Star. — 1824-08-19 (London, England)

DURHAM, AUGUST 16. The Judges proceeded from the Castle of Durham, this morning, to the County Courts. Mr. Justice BAYLEY took his seat in the Criminal Court, and Mr. Baron HULLOCK in the Civil Court. On Mr. Justice BAYLEY'S entering the Court, the names of the Magistrates for the County were called over, and the usual proclamations against vice and immorality were then read ; after which the names of the Gentlemen summoned to attend upon the Grand Jury were called over, and the usual number were empanelled as the Grand Inquest for the county of Durham. Silence having been proclaimed in the Court, Mr. Justice BAYLEY proceeded to address the Grand Jury. Ilis Lordship particularly alluded to the case marked No. 13. The charge was as follows -  " Joseph William Hodgson, late of Sunderland, in the county of Durham, surgeon, charged upon the oaths of Charlotte Hodgson, wife of the said Joseph W. Iludgson ; Elizabeth Allison, of Houghton-le-Spring, in the said county, widow; Rachel Brown, wife of Thomas Brown, of Bishop Wearmouth, in the said county, master mariner; Joseph Brown, of the same place, Doctor of Medicine, and others, with having, on the 6th of June instant, wilfully, maliciously, and unlawfully, administered a deadly poison or other noxious or destructive substance to the said Charlotte Hodgson, with intent to murder the said Charlotte liodgson." In this case. they would find that the wife would be made a material witness against her husband. For, though in ordinary cases, the law, acting upon a wise and prudent policy, would not permit the testimony of the wife to be received for or against her husband, yet, in cases like the present, where an attempt was said to have been made against her life by the husband, she was as competent a witness as any other person who could be produced against him. It was desirable that in this case they should be fully satisfied that the poison was administered, because, if it was not absolutely administered, but only prepared for the purpose of being administered, it would be their duty to find a bill for the misdemeanour only. It appeared, from the deposition of the wife, that for some time past her husband, in her opinion, had been labouring under mental derangement ; and if they were satisfied that he was labouring under mental derangement at the time he administered this poison, then they could not, with any propriety, find a bill against him on the capital charge. In the course of the day a curious circumstance occurred in this Court. A prisoner was indicted for stealing a XlOO note from a drunken man. There was some probability that the prisoner might have found it, as the prosecutor had bra...fished the note about very carelessly in his drunken momenta. The Jury retired to consider of their verdict. After they had been out for some time, they returned, and by some mistake suffered a verdict of M,4 Guilty be recorded against the prisoner. Mr. Justice &veer was admonishing the prisoner to be more guarded in his future conduct, and advising him to take his narrow escape from conviction as a warning to amend his future life, when a juror observed that he had not concurred in a verdict of " Not Guilty," and that he believed that his fellows had not concurred in it either. The Jury were in consequence again ordered to retire, and after being absent for two hours from Court, returned with a verdict of Guilty against the prisoner. Mr. Justice Batten. informed Mr. Loeb, the prisoner's Counsel, that the prisoner should have the full benefit of any doubts that might arise as to the validity of this verdict. A true bill was found against Joseph W. Hodgson, for the capital offence of having administered poison to his wife, and also tor a misdemeanour in having prepared It with the intent of administering it. On being arraigned at the bar, he pleaded—Not Guilty. During this ceremony he wept abundantly, and scarcely ever took his handkerchief from his eyes. His trial was appointed in Court for tomorrow, but has since been postponed to Wednesday. It is said, that it is not more than eighteen months since he eloped to Gretnagreen with the Lady whom be is now accused of having attempted to poison.  Grouse-shooting, which commenced on Thursday' appears to be very successtul, as great quantities of game are daily arriving in town.  Intsn