The Sun. — 1851-08-18 (London, England)

CRIMINAL COURT.--(THIS DAY  OLD COURT. The August sessions were opened this morning before the Recorder, Aldermen Hunter, Challis, and Carden, the two Shei iffs, and the various other civic functionaries. The first edition of the calendar contains the names of 226 prisoners. The grand jury having been sworn, The RECORDER proceeded to charge them. He was lorry he could not congratulate them upon the lightness of the calendar. It was, however, a gratifying circum• stance that the calendar did not contain a single case of Murder, but at the same time it was a source of regret that it embraced many charges of injury to the person. He Was sorry to find that cases were on the increase in which Men were charged with violently ill-treating their wives. Two of the cases of that nature which were likely to come before them called for particular notice, because ie each the accused party appeared to have dose his best to become a murderer. In one case the destruction of life Was prevented by the intervention of third parties, and in the other it was saved through the merciful interposition of Divine Providence. These cases presented no legal difficulty, and it was, therefore, unnecessary for him to detain them with any lengthened observations upon this part of the calendar; but there was another case of manslaughter of a somewhat peculiar and unusual character, which called for a little more consideration at his hands. It appeared from the depositions that a person named Stephens, who was not a medical man by profession, or authorised by the recognised authorities to practise medicine, was charged 'with having caused the death of a man by administering an injection. The accused in this instance was the agent of a medical man Nk ho treated his patients after a System of his own, and death it would seem took place While the party was undergoing the treatment which that system prescribed. Now there were three que,time to be considered in this case, first, was the administering of the medicine the act of the prisoner; secondly, did it cause or accelerate death; and thirdly, Was the medicine administered under such circumstances as to render the prisoner liable to the charge of manslaughter. Cases of this description ultd from time to time been a subject of considerable discussion, but it was agreed on all bands that it made no difference in the ca,e whether the accused party was a regularly authorised medical practitioner or not. It was enough to constitute manslaughter that the party accused had failed in a case, where medical aid was easily attainable, to bring reasonable and competent knowledge to the task which he had undertaken, or to use the necessary care for insuring a cure. 4 ease was tried a short time ago before a Learned Judge, who expounded the law of the subject in a clear and explicit manner. In that case a man was charged with having caused the death of another °7 administering an unnecessary quantity of saorison's pills, and there it was held that the fact of the prisoner being a legal practitioner made no difference whatever in the complexion of the case, while the law was laid down to the jury in the manner which he had already explained to them. There was one other Case in the calendar which demanded one passing remark on account of its charging an offence which, until recently,was unknown to the law. Two boys were charged Under an Ant of Parlidment which came into force on the 3d of July, with Navin; thrown stones upon one of the metropolitan railways, and if they should be satisfied that they threw the stones with a malicious nature, loch as to obstruct the progress or overturn 11 carriage, it would be their duty to send them for trial, but if, on; the other hand, it turned out that they did it for a mere frolic, then there would he an end of the matter. The Learned Recorder then tbstnissed them to their duties with his usual caution, that they should be exceedingly careful how they reUll-fled -true bills where there had been no inquiry before a magistrate. The grand jury then retired.