The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-12-13 00:00:00

ASSAULT AT MOSLEY.—John Flaherty and Dennis
Denee were indicted for violently assaulting John Colby,
with intent to murder him. The jury found both pri-
soners guilty. His Lordship said that, owing to the
great number of cases of a similar serious character
which had been tried at these assizes, he would defer
sentencing the prisoners, and would leave it to Mr. Baron
Alderson, who would pass sentence next day; but he
would prepare the prisoners for a very severe sentence.—
Flaherty was afterwards sentenced to be transported for
twenty years ; Denee to six years' penal imprisonment.
CHARGE OF MURDER. Elizabeth Cunliffe was
charged with the murder of her daughter, Alice Hannah
Cunliffe. The prisoner, a woman in humble circum-
stances, appeared very dejected. Previous to her being
arraigned it was intimated to the court that she was of
unsound mind. His Lordship directed that she be con-
fined during Her Majesty's pleasure.
The court then adjourned till nine o'clock next morning.

then laid before the jury by Mr. Brett. The first count
set forth that Rawson had entered into a contract with
that
the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, f
-or making b.ricks ;
that the bricks were made, and that it was the habit and
custom, as to payment for the same, that a certificate
should be given by one Weightman, the borough surveyor,
upon the borough treasurer, for payment ; that this custom
was well known to the prisoners ; that they pretended
they had made more bricks than they had, and by such
pretence they had obtained a larger amount of payment
than was due. The second count stated the same fal9,
pretences having been made to Wybergh (the borough
treasurer) ; the third, that the same pretences bad been
made to Weightman ; the fourth, to the mayor, aldermen)
and burgesses ; the fifth count charged a conspirae7 011
the first count ; the sixth charged a general conspiracy, by
which the prisoners obtained a greater amount that],
due ; and the seventh count that the prisoners consPirr"

generally.
Mr. Simon followed on the same side, going over
various circumstances with much minuteness, ill
coure
coure of which he narrated the processes J)y which 'ire
alleged number of bricks made were checked off.
showed, also, that after the numbers had been checked 0"
and determined, Rawson received a certificate from Mr:
Weightman, which certificate was presented to the Firiu'inc!
Committee, and being indorsed by them, Rawson if,as
enabled to draw the money. The charge arose out of ti 4
presentation of a certificate, which bore that more hrie'n
had been made than in reality had been. Mr. Rate
went to the treasurer and received the money for
balance, and also other money ; and it was upon the cora;
pletion of this untrue account furnished that the 10es..,.eile
charge arose; and it must be obvious that the chaff
would be established by showing the means of obtaiallif
the money, by falsifying the accounts handed by llftieje
to Rawson, by Rawson to Clarke, and by Clarke I'
Corporation. +mice ?
The Judge.—How then can it be a false Pre'es",.- by
False pretence consists in obtaining goods or 111°?:,'Ieut
means of falsehoods stated. It is put here as an etlaiLtze,
for larceny: Where is it ? If a man make an overcp`i t
some part of the money is unlawfully obtained;: but
is that part P You mint stand upon the conspiratl ""i
It looks to me' excessively like an action at lasv,. bat
not an indictable' offence.
Mr. James said au action at law had already' 1i
commenced. ade
Mr. Simon objected to such a statement being
with' regard to the false pretence. If it was an overcialre:
it would not be, but if. the Overcharge had been wilalw
ma&'by the parties,- then it was a false pretence.
The Judge.—But he. obtained the money by a tNg

THURSDAY.
(Before Baron Alderson.)

His Lordship took his seat at nine o'clock, and .pro-
ceeded to hear the

CHARGE OF MURDERING A. POLICEMAN.—Thomas
Copeland, 19, was charged with the murder of Richard
Sunderland, a police constable, on the Ist of No-
vember last. Mr. Aspinall, along with whom was Mr.
Bolton, conducted the prosecution, and Mr. Atkinson
defended the prisoner. All the facts connected with this
case have already appeared in the Standard, and, as the
circumstance was a recent one, an outline of these, as they
appeared on the trial, will be sufficient. The fatal affray

arose out of the contest for the representation of
Vauxhall Ward, at the last borough election. About half-
past two on the afternoon of that day, the prisoner, along
with some others, seeing Mr. John Evans and Mr.
James Kearns canvassing for votes in a public-house, in
Edgar-street, demanded drink from those gentlemen,
which they refused to give., The prisoner and his coad-
jutors then became riotous, and the police were sent for
to disperse the crowd, most of whom went away, but the
prisoner refused to go, and used violent language and
threats towards- Mr. Evans. The police interfered, and,
in an attempt to take the prisoner into custoday, he
struck the deceased, Richard Sunderland, in the thigh
with a knife, inflicting a wound which nearly divided the
femoral artery, and caused almost immediate death.
Evidence having been had as to the nature of the scuffle
between the deceased.and•prisoner, and also as to the cir-
cumstances under which the wound was inflicted, Ann
Houghton was examined. She resided in Court No. 8,
Cavendish-street, wherethe prisoner lived. On the day
and at the time in question, she saw the prisoner run
into the court, swearing and-calling out, " You -, if
_ .

certifijeate. -
Mr. Simon contended' that that certificate had bee!
obtained' by a falsifying of the am:rants, which had bee"
held to be a false pretence.
The Judge said Mr. Weightman ought to have usqr;
tamed this' before the certificate was given, but the
instrument itself was true: Here the false pretence wee
to obtain the• certificate, which itself ryas true. The
tense was too remote to sustain the indictment. Se `-
not say this was an indictable' offence upon the face of the
indictment itself, but as they were to try the conspiracy, let
them tr; that- for really there'was nothing in the other;
Mr. Simon directed his lordship's- attention to the fels4,'
fication of the accounts, which would'be found to bear oei
the false pretence.' In the first plaee;tfie entire amount°
bricks reported by . Clarke, as made- by Rawson, svi"'
6,157,230, but it would be provedthat inthat return there
was an excess overcharged of 1,440;630 bricks. It Ivoal a
also be shown that bricks of an expensive kind had be;
made at a stool, crie bricks- amounting:- in value to ~ t
18s. 6d. It would; however, be shown' in evidence t„,.10_,
•
there was no such, stool in the field' at all. He
Simon) would show-that Clarke haixled:over the whole 2_
the accounts kept by Harper, and that: the'very aeon°, re
book handed in by Clarke .was also in, the-hand-writin„ °t;
Harper. This showed 'that Clarke was in very
connection with Harper ; that Clarke mid-Rawson were f';
very friendly terms ; that they were seen, together the
public-house several times ; that Clarke asked the men
number of bricks made,; that they reporteclosorrectib,T,id
that Clarke had the opportunity of stating- the aet."--
number.
The Judge.—Unless I! have been labouring under ste;
hrsion for the last two, or three years as;th.what is
criminal law, I cannot see how a conviction can: taken
under this in h
dictment. What is there to show more t'-d
a blunder or mistake, and'Ave are dealing withmilliong rti
brigs. The criminal law was not intended!forsuch sot
of things as these ;itis o; ease for the civil law, The IP'
pretence set forth is the obtaining a certificateforthe-Pl,
merit of money, and you might have includediMr. Nireiglt
man himself in the indictment. Ido not say that hems;

you. follow me, I'll croak you." She also heard him say
to'the officer, "By --, I'll- rip you up with, this." The
officer was just going in at the • door, after the prisoner,
at the- moment. The prisoner had a knife in his right
hand; which she saw him- throw over his- shoulder.
Witness saw the deceased fall and die after that.—Mary
Ann York, an intelligent child,- about eight years of age,
who lived in the house the prisoner resided in, was sitting
on the stairs when the prisoner came in and took .a white-
handled>knife off the table, and held it in his hand. The
police-offiter came running in and took the prisoner. She
saw the-prisoner stab the policeman with a knife,. which
he held in-his hand. He flung the knife into the street
after stabbing the policeman.—For the defend the
learned counsel contended that the police-officers had no
right to arrest the prisoner, under the circumstances,
without a warrant ; and argued that the prisoner had
displayed no-indication of premeditation. in the case.—His
Lordship carefiilly went over the evidence, commenting
on its various- points ; he alluded also to- the question of
the legality of the aiL est. The jury retired, and, after an
absence of an hear and a half, they returned a verdict of
"guilty of manslaughter." The learned baron said,
the jury had, afterapatient investigation, found theprisoner
guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter only. How-
ever, the case was-one of great aggravation, and he was-
very sorry that the:' crime of stabbing in this town had
greatly increased. The use of the knife had been greatly
on the increase, mush to the disgrace of the town. It
was a practice that should be put down by law. It un-
fortunately could not now be called an un-English crime,
for it was a crime that was committed throughout the
kingdom. Formerly it was a crime confined, or said to
be confined, to foreigners, but now it was but too com-
mon in the united kingdom. The present was a case
that he would make an example of, in order to deter other
persons from the horrible use of the knife. The sentence,
therefore, should be a severe one, and he hoped itwould
be a warning to all who would hear of it. It was neces-
sary to protect the police in the proper discharge of their
duty, because they acted- under the law of the country,
which protected all. Trusting that the present case
would prove a salutary- warning to all, the sentence of
the court was, that the- prisoner be transported beyond
the seas for the term of his natural life. Some friends of
the prisoner set up a cry,. which was at once suppressed.
CHARGE OP CHILD aLtPßDEß.—Bridget Cahilt was
charged with the murder of her illegitimate female child,
on the 29th of August last.. The jury found a verdict of
guilty of concealing the birth only. Sentence, two years'.
imprisonment. '

to he, but he might be.
Mr. Simon.—Oh, he is above that suspicion,

Mr. James.—And wortinlY so.
•
The Judge.—l mention his -name merely in illbstrati°sl;
He was, no doubt, about the field as well as 11.1 f...: Raws°ll;
and a man is likely to be mach more sharp to find out
why
he loses than when he gains..
Mr. James.—l may mention that an action of law 11
been brought. It has been. .referred to a gentleman °t
high standing, and the money has been deposited-to•
the award.
The Judge.—lt is a very proper case for sucEo.coull:
I do not say that the Corporation may not bell), therig,,lt'
bid is it because a tradesman's servant makes out' a
which there is an overcharge,• and the money is- got, s(-1;
are to indict the tradesman for conspiracy ? You-mig
aswell say that the breeches sent home were.not made. V/
wtailor. (Laughter.)
After some further conversation between
the leaned
counsel and the bench, caSe• Tbe
The Judge said he thought there was no • t an.
Prosecution did not bring the parties acting
and without this they con:4/lot show. ,‘_.°lThPiracY t°d
and a corrupt management intey-se.. 8."
-"ere mightbave been
overchalyes made, and these ought to be rigidly inquired
into. Mr. Rawson had paid money when 31r. ,llarper told
Min. "Now go on," said the Judge, " and trythe question
as a civil matter." togetheregao,

kIIRDER OP ASAILOR IMCIFIBLES-STREET,LIVERPOOL..
—Emanuel Montero, a Spaniard, was charged with the
murder of Richard Gervas, Crispen, in Charles-street,
Liverpool, on the night of: the 22d of October last. The.
facts of the case were full* reported in the Standard,
at the time of the occurrence. The following brief
outline is therefore all that is required in the present
instance. On the night M.question, between twelve and,
one o'clock, the deceased and a companion were proceed.
lag along Charles-street, a-. 41 met the prisoner and another_
man, an American, named Williams. Words ensued:
bot.,cco thcru, wlll,ll ulLlaoottsly cause to blows. In the
course of the fight whielt4took place, the prisoner drew
his knife from its sheath, and stabbed the deceased in the
abdomen; the wound causal:death in about three quarters
of an hour after it had been received. The prisoner aka.
stabbed the companion of the deceased, but not fatally
in the groin. The jury, in .this case, as in that of Cope-
land, found a verdict of," guilty of manslaughter. The,
prisoner was sentenced to-be-transported for twenty yearns.

The prisoners were then-discharged. oath
CHARGE OP MANSrAIGHTER. - RIRSTIEO-
BOTLER AT BLACKBURN.7—}VM. Ilesketh; charged.
the manslaughter of Thos. Sharpies, at Blackbinm, Olt
2nd of November, by th bursting of a steam-boiler, Wab'
acquitted.' 81 •
MALICIOUSLY Wotrstkrict.— Cowell, Dickenson; Bt'l
wine, and Slater, charged with maliciously wounding, 1'
ease arising out of the- late Blackburn municipal' eleeti°ll'
were acquitted. ed
PRIZE-FIGHTING. Clarke and Donellp,
with manslaughter, arising out of a recent prize-C,
were acquitted, it having bc;en shown, that the'deecT.tii
was severely abused in, a subsequent fightio,that

- ROBBERY WITH Vlotwica AT MANCHESTEB.—MichaeI
Smyth, a rather respectable, and well-dressed young man,
was charged with having,: _with much violence, robbed-
Mr. George Bromley, at Manchester, of a watch, chain,
and other property. The-jury returned a verdict of guilky,,
and the prisoner was sentenced to penal imprisonment for
two years.

ASSAULT AND ROBBERY, WITH VIOLENCE, AT Wiccaao.
—Matthew Prior wasintlicted for an assault and robbery,.
with violence, on the• person of Thomas Eastham, at
Wigan, in August last.. The jury found him guilty,.and
he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with. hard
labour.
CUTTING AND WOIINDING AT KNOWSLEY.—JOhrt,
Harrison was charged with cutting and wounding. Mary
Fairhurst, at Knowsley, on the sth November.. The
assault, a very violent,one, was committed by the prisoner
on his aunt, who is, upwards of seventy years of. age,
while he was in a state.of intoxication. He beat hem with
a pitchfork, broke her:- arm, and wounded her in • sevtral
places. The jury returned a verdict of guilty, and he was
sentenced to two years' imprisonment, with hard labour.
The court rose-at six o'clock.
(Before Baron Martin.)

the prisoners had been engaged.
The court rose at seven o'clock.
(Before Baron Martin.)•
MURDER AT STDCKPORT.—Thomas Moore, a facte7,
worker, was charged with the murder of James nig.l,lh
and John Higham, his step-sons, aged respectivoly eitere
and-a-half years and four-and-a-half ' years. TheY I.,`as d•
sons of his wife;;
_Esther Moore, by a former 11116,`"ep-
The prisoner was out of work, and 'on the 2nd o',l re•
tember last he took the two boys out :with him, an until
turned without them. The children were not Rin" the
the sth of September, when a boatman saw one 0' The
bodies floating-in the canal, near Shawcross-bridge..d he
other was found soon after. The prisoner' had dreg.
would never work to maintain another man's chi'
the
He had also bum imprisoned for neglect of family.. 50
children had.been entered into two burial serietts' of
that £l9 4s became due at their death. A nanwAiios•
witnesses were called, including his father-in-law, yvith
Fletcher,) who said that the prisoner came home ttle
the boys w month before all dripping wet, and thewuer
one with a severe blow upon the. head. The Pri' oe
frequently played with the children, and took till re:
to walk, His Lordship, in carefully summing 11.:,.'aios"
marked; that there appeared to be much prejudice been
the prisoner at Stockport; and that there had not 'r-oes'eu
'single fact, bearing directly upon the murder, 13,,,,-41e.
against him. The jury retired, and, after a long C0—
ration,, a verdict of not guilty was returned. .kaciog
The court rose at nine o'clock.; the last case
occupied seven hours:

RIOT AT Hughes, John liacy, Jahn
Baker, and John_Leadbetter, were severally charged with
having, at Wigan„on the 28th Oct. last, together with a
number of other persons, committed a riot, From the
evidence, as &posed by several witnesses, it appeared that
the prisoners: had, formed part of the mob, of turn-outs
who created the recent disturbance, and the wanton des-
truction of property, at Wigan. A verdict of_gmilty was
returned against the whole of the prisoners.. Leadhetter
at the last assizes. had been tried and convicted upon a
similar charge:: of riot, and for which be had had one
month's imprisonment. In this case hiii-lordship would
sentence him to twelve months' imprisonment, and the
other three were severally sentenced, to. three months'
imprisonment.

GARIWTTE RC:0111E11Y. Michael Cunningham was
charged.with comn:kitting a robbery of the above description,
on the night of the 24th of November last, upon Benjamin
Griffith. The jury returned a verdict of guilty. A pre-
vious conviction was then proved agaiust the prisoner, for
whichhe had been imprisoned for two years. Sentence,
ten, years' penal servitude.

SATURDAY.
(Beore Baran, Martin) barge
STABBING IN LIVBBPOOL.—Wm. Christy o
with having stabbed Patrick Kane, with intent t°,/slov..
and disfigure him, on Sunday afternoon, the 13th r
about twelve o'clock, in Tithebarn-street. -Alwa the
elaborate summing up from the Judge, the jury.fo..3ollil3
prisoner guilty of feloniously wounding, and his I°'
of
sentenced him to six years' penal servitude. netted
Thomas Moore, who.
step- previously been r,
the murder of his two phildren at Stockl39-, been
then formally arraigned and discharged, after
tsn' Par tea
cautioned by the judge as to his future condO,,oioo
larly towards his wife and father-in-law. T ie e- 0 day
business of the Assizes. The court rose at -)satti' 3
Mr. Baron. Alderson returned to London, 00

ROBBERY IN LIVERPOOL.—Thos. Fielding and Peter
317 Cabe pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting John
Darr°ll, and robbing him of his watch and three sove-
reigns, and other moneys and articles. The jury returned
a.verdict of guilty against both prisoners. In the case of
M`Cabe witnesses to character were called, and the self
tence, upon him was that he imprisoned for twelve months,
with hard labour. Previous convictions were proved
against Fielding. Sentence, four years' penal servitude.
CUTTING AND WOUNDIXG AT LIVERPOOL.—Edward
Gay, a man of colour, was charged with having cut and
wounded Ann Gill, on the night of the 26th of November
last. The jury returned, a verdict of "unlawful wound-
ing." Sentence, twelve months, with hard labour, Upon
hearing the sentence, the prisoner exclaimed, " That will
do well enough !" and left the dock.
GARROTTE ROBBERY NEAR CnoßLEY.—Ralph Ireland
was indicted for having, at Chadnock, near Chorley, as-
saulted Win. Rylands, and robbed him of two purses and
16s. in money. The jury, after a short consultation, found
the prisoner guilty, and his Lordship sentenced him to
penal servitude for five years.
HOUBEBREARING AT SALFORD.—Josias Maliss and
John Doran were indicted for having, at Salford, broken
into -the house of Lucy Norris Cantrell, and stolen there-
from a quantity of wearing apparel. The prisoners were
found guilty, but Maliss was recommended to mercy on
account of his previous good character. His Lordship then
sentenced the prisoner Maliss to two months' imprison-
ment, and Doran to three months' imprisonment,
BURGLARY AT SALFORD.—John Atherton was charged,
with having, at Salford, burglariously entered the house of
Roger Haliwell, with intent to steal. By his lordship's
direction, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
BURGLARY AT LIVERPOOL.—Wm. Jones, Mabel Sor-
ton, and Ann Mooney were indicted for having broken
into the dwelling-house of John Farrer, and stolen a
quantity of wearing apparel and other articles, at No. 17,
Toxteth-street. The jury found the female prisoners not
guilty. A verdict of- guilty was returned against the pri-
soner Jones, and he was sentenced to four years' penal
servitude.

mornihg.

PRESENTMENT BY THE GRAO 115. ii
About mid-day on Thursday, the Grou—th the
elpiiroerreuskegnohtftm
ai n
errn
tt
aihg
ofe whole of of their bills, ort
presentment, which was read by Mr, Shut
ofJ ijoiss:ing
inschattle
Grand Juru, at the Lie—"P°°l 'sl:ocirda -I
Commission, 1853. without rof the
The Grand Jury are unwilling to separate rice - the
ing their unanimous opinion that the interferestep foroto
legislature is imperatively called for to Put %ties' ro'ell
present system of money payments by burial socl._,„ ite ~,at
the cases brought before them at the present assl/V'obt .
p no e° „d tha„
as from past experience, the Grand Jury h- murder, . "nt"
the system operates as a direct incentive to burrieu lof
many of their fellow-beings are, year after Year, the tie the
eternity by those most closely united to them bY .xe oi ,e,
nature and of blood, if not of affection, for tl' ss'ao at Poe
few pounds to which, by the rules of the societie
ontteolos
sent constituted, the survivors are entitled. me f te ; an,ise,
of such a state of things is too fearful to contemP•a„ the Tect
a simple remedy presents itself, without inWairTthe °Woe
fulness of sick and benefit societies, the scope an oda', the
of which are admitted to be both hutnane and hen . that 0
Grand Jury would respectfully, but earnestly, requepocted '
attention of the proper authorities may be at once “
gre qt
this painful object.
The Judge : " I think you have done a very
service by putting forward such a presentmen •
Mr. Shuttleworth continued to read : .;e i°
, - hicre--; oie
The misdirection of these funds, the alarming its e 0 ri;-
crimes of violence, accompanied by the barbarous
~,e wo „
knife, the lamentable prevalence of strikes among
_l7 woV;S
lug classes, arising from andeundesto relatioi!shreacll_,
people and their employers, leading inevitablyy,u;re!.,
of the peace and other calamitous results, forciD,ll:BOce of
upon the minds of the Grand Jury the great iint.o,!,"oses
.„
extending the means of imparting education to a.II .'"
n that ,I,!`'
the community, for it is their unanimous opielo 0.,, in 7.,
solid foundation for any abiding and salutary chant,.,„ co;_.
habits and pursuits of the poorer classes in this coonT,`Zonfori
be hoped for, unless such change is based upon th eu`'
thenot t
o young;
be
allowedtliat the
t 0 chargerest t
oo
so
oe tilaurTettii
ji,°enn;?:s;•
does, upon the benevolent exertions 00. t ~dollo_
attaehnnnidsit "gcraloaasosi dnisti;onnutgohg'ovia:tt there is a duty and a pecuniary resp ~!'e 0p,,,P,
RS regards education, which should rightfully delio;;;e ieg''
the state, and that this responsibility is one vvhict .
lature ought no longer to shun.

Shortly after six o'clock the court adjourned until nine

FRIDAY.
(Before Baron Alderson.)

_
The Court opened at nine o'clock, and after
.passing
sentence upon several prisoners, proceeded with

THE LATE FRAUD ON THE CORPORATION.
On this case, the circumstances of which are already so
familiar to the public, being called on, Mr. Rawson, who
had been admitted to bail, answered to his name, and Mr.
Clarke appeared in the dock. John Harper, a clerk to
Rawson, and who was also included in the indictment, and
who had been admitted to bail, did not surrender when
called npon.

Joseph Rawson and William Clarke were then indicted
for having unlawfully and fraudulently conspired, confe-
derated, and combined together, by divers false pretences,
to acquire to themselves from the mayor, aldermen, and,.

WM. DROWN_ Forero

goII
His Lordship assured the Grand Jury thattg
take care the document was laid before

burgesses of the borough of Liverpool, the sum of
£1,727145. 9d., with intent to defraud and cheat the said

Secretary

parties named.

Mr. Brett conducted the_ prosecution ;

Mr. Simon and

Ar. Edward Jones had been specially retailwaor Rawsop, ship-letter bags will be made up in Loudon_ oeri
and Mr. Monk defended Clarke.
The following :brief otninnary of the Indictment was THE POST-OFFICE authorities have give
inst. for Madeira, Melbourne, and SydneY, 1°
- the City of Sydney irkamexk