The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-01-17 00:00:00

OLD BAILEY.

James Dixon stood indicted for maliciously shoot.
ing at Anne, the wife of Richard Earl, in the month
of December last. The Prosecutrix, it appeared,
lodged in Clerkenwell, and on the night on which
the offence was alleged to have been committed, she
was washing in a back room, when the wadding of a
gun or pistol passed through a pane of glass, and
struck her on the breast. Terrified at the circum.
stance, she immediately gave an alarm, and after a
search of an hour it was discovered that the Prisoner
had discharged a gun from a back window fronting
that near which the Prosecutrix stood. On being
interrogated as to the cause of his conduct, he said
he had been shooting at cats, and had not the slight.
est intention of injuring any person in existence. Ile
also expressed his satisfaction that no material ill
effects had resulted from his imprudence.
1 The Jury, from all the circumstances of the rase,
' did not conceive the Prisoner had any malicious do.
sign, and therefore acquitted him.
BURGLARY.

John Clayon and William Jenkins were next tried
on a capital indictment, charging them with burg'.
riously breaking and entering the house of Jane
Furm, in the parish of St. James's, on the night of
the Ist of January instant, with an intent to steal.
The facts of the case have been so recently before
our Renders in:a report from Bow-street office, un-
der the name of Mrs. Martin's house, in Bury-street,
that we do not think it necessary to enter into a mi-
nute detail of the circumstances attending the Pri-
soners' guilt and apprehension. It may be recol-
lected that Clayton, by intriguing with the servant.
maid of the Prosecutrix, who is a single woman, re-
siding at No. 4, Bury-street, St. James's, found
means to gain admission to her house during her Mr-
sence at the theatre, and afterwards admitted his az-
sociate Jenkins; where; after threatening to blew
out the brains of the servant if she made a noise,
they proceeded to break open doors and drawers for
the purpose of stealing such property as they could
find. Fortunately, however, for the sake of pu'►=
lic justice, the Officers of Bow-street had informa-
tion of the intended depredation, and secured the
Prisoners at the moment ►when they had nearly com-
pleted their work.
These facts having been most clearly substantiated,
the Prisoners were found guilty—Dealh.
They are both young men, the one by trade a gold
beater, and the other a chair-maker.
In the passage of the house, after their apprehen.
sion, was found a small wooden case, containing IG
different implements of polished steel, for the pur-
pose of picking locks, unscrewing hinges, and per.
forming other operations connected with their ini-
quitous profession.
HIGHWAY ROBBERY.

• • George Snsilh stood indicted for feloniously as-
saulting on the King's highway, Elisabeth Sharpe,
and forcibly and against her will taking from her
person tea shillings worth of halfpence, the property
of her father Joseph Sharpe.
The Prosecutrix, a little girl not more than twelve
years of age, stated, that on the evening of the 11th
of December last, about seven o'clock, she was past"
ing through Clement's Inn, with the halfpence in
question on her arm, when two men overtook her,
and one of them placed his hand on her mouth to pre.
vent her giving an alarm, while the other, the Pri-
soner, took from her the two papers containing the
halfpence, and ran off. She immediately pursued him,
crying " Stop thief," and he was stopped by the Pa-
trole in Ciement's-lane, near to him, where he was-
secured, were found nine shillings and eleven-pence
of the halfpence, he had taken from the child. These
facts were corroborated by two other witnesses.
Three persons spoke to the general good character
of the Prisoner, who it appears was engaged in 4
printing-office in Water-lane, Fleet-street.
The LOAD CHIEF BARON, in summing np the evi•
dence observed, that In order to substantiate the
charge mied against the Prisoner, it was necessary
that the Jury should be satisfied that coercion had
been used in order to obtain the money in question
om the Prosecutrix.—" Hands off" was certainly
a fundamental principle of the law, yet under the pe-
culiar circumstances of the case, and the tender years
of the Prosecutrix, he thought in a charge, the effects
of which went to so severe a punishment, it might not
be improper to entertain some hesitation before a ver-
dict to the full extent of the charge was given. If*
doubt existed, the Prisoner was certainly entitled to
the benefit of that doubt, and upon the whole he
deemed it would be more consistent with the evidence,
to find him guilty of the larceny on the person, but
not of the highway robbery.
The Jury according with his Lordship's humane
reemrk, acquitted the Prisoner of the capital of-
I fence, bat found him Guilty of stealing front the
person.