Richmond daily Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1842-1861, 1853-07-18

From the London rines. June ssh
VIA. isnsshs letter from M . soSis sss s
ter Tho conduct Of this gentleman has beea called In
question In consequence Of the defence no up for
prisoner who lately tried the Old Bailey. The cir
cumsanccs Of the may well have escaped the notice
OF many OF our readers although they have made the
subject OF severe remark We would therefore, before Of
erng any comment the case recaptuate the lead
ing iacts which require be known before any sasac
tory Judgment be offered upon Il. In order do
Mr. Sleigh full justice will take these facts from his
own letter. Briefly they stand thus
On Tuesday scnnght Mr. Sleigh standing In one Of
the passages Of the Central Criminal Court whena friends
clerk came up to him and informed him that his
was absent at the Addesex Sessions that prisoner
then being tried before the Recorder in whose favor the
absent counsel should have appeared and he ended By
asking Sleigh TO undertake thecase and do his best
save his friends credit. This he agreed do The phi
soner bad been already aaigued had pleaded and
In the charge Of the jury. Mr. Sleigh then mentioned TO
brief delay, that he might master the facts in the
The delay not accorded the Recorder ordered
the case should proceed. No doubt this q die
agreeable situation, but STILL Mr. Sleigh had undertak
TO do his best he was bound to do t. We gather from
Mr. Seighs letter that the socaed brief which had
thrust into his hand brief all, but rambling IL
legble scraw from which he could gather sense or
meaning. He was entirely iguoran. Of the defence on
which the prisoner himself wished rely. All that he
could do was TO struggle against the fac they In
evidence Now, the indictment charged that the prison
er had burglariously entered a dwelling house, but
not that he had stolen thing On examination Of the
prosecutor appeared that the prisoner had entered
means Oh anu when detected found the
bed room ofa lady ledger who absent from the
house at the time and THAT jewellery, tnkets &C. were
lying in proiusion on her table, Of which had
been touched by the prisoner The lady was not pro-
duced a witness, and present in court 1, was
under these circumstances that Mr. Sleigh put ny
pohess to the jury that the prisoner might entered
the house for immoral but for burgarious pur.
pose in short that the lady referred might have been
cognzant OF the prisoners presence in her ROOM Ii we
understand Mr. Scghs letter Alright he had already set
up this defence when friend the table whispered to
was Mt ha had haan
sent to the house by gentleman deliver parcel
However this be- Mr. Sleigh persisted even after this
hint; well knowing $50 he writes every one con.
versant with these docs oentimes innocent
people have fabricated untrue and absurd defences
with view TO their escape from impending charges Of
crime, and feeling that the prisoner by his plea had de-
cared his innocence Of the offence upon which he then
being tried certainly did repudatc his story
being too transparency absurd and under the peculiar
circumstances of the case, submitted the defence CON-
planned OF the jury rather hypothesis" 1t ap-
pears that the prisoner had been previously convicted of
burglary, but Mr.. Sleigh solemnly the public
that at the time lie addressed jury he in entire K
norance OF that accept the assurance and gladly
Ieve the case from all aggravaton which il would
doubedy have received from his previous knowledge of
important a fact
Now, VIC haveno doub, that Mr.. Sleigh will admit that
in our brief recapulaon Of the facts OF the case
done him ample justice; but upon this he
cannot hope to escape public Can IL be olera
ted that the character Of innocent woman is be
bawlcd in criminal without one title of evil
dencc to support the mputaton in order TO give pris
oner miserable chance of escapey The difficulties of
Mr. Segh position scarcely be said TO bear upon the
point in never so remote degree What does the pala
ton look like when stated in plain English! a" knew
nothing about the case, and therefore in public court
charged an absent woman, about whom knew a. little
las did about the prisoner with immortality" The ig-
norance Of the counsel constitutes aggravatiou not
paaton of his conduct Surely the prisoners own story
about the gentleman and the parcel one whit more
absurd than Mr.. Sleghs ingenious hypothesis that he
had appointment for immoral purpose with the lady
IN whose apartment he was found. Had this been
So was consonant with the ordinary experience of
such that the prisoner should been standing in
the dock at all upon tie criminal charge Ii would have
required that the prisoner should have silen,-tha
his paramour should have been scnt-that the landlord
should have been kept IL entire Ignorance of the real stu
alton of the parties 10th the time and until the date Of
the trial Was it not absolutely certain that had Mr.
Scghs suggestion been the one the case would
never have come into court at all? We do not believe
that the opinion of the English bar will bear out Mr.
Sleigh in his view Of the extreme lengths whc coun-
sci may go in the defence Of prisoner Speaking as Law
men, simply say that any English gentleman would
be 10th 10 belong profession in which was the prac
tce to endeavor guilt the expense of
and TO lberate burglar at the Old Bailey by charging
an absent and virtuous woman with immortality and pol
luton.