The Sun. — 1863-08-17 (London, England)

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT---This Day.  The August Session of the Central Criminal Court commenced this morning at the Sessions Houses, Old Bailey, before Alderman Sir R. W. Carden, who sat as locum tenens for the Lord Mayor, the Recorder (Mr. Russell Gurney), Alderman William Lawrence,Alderman Allen, the Sheriffs, Alderman J. C. Laurence, and Hugh Jones, Esq., Mr. Under-sheriff Mackrell, Mr. Under-sheriff Farrar, and other civic authorities.  The calendar contains a list of 116 persons for trial, the offences for the most part being of the ordinary character. The grand jury having been sworn, The Recorder, in delivering his charge, remarked upon the absence from the calendar of any charge of wilful murder ; there were, however, two cases of assaults with intent to murder or do grievous bodily harm. In the first case a man named Henry Tink was charged with cutting the throat of his brother, Charles John Tink. It appeared from the depositions that the prisoner had invited his brother to come to London to obtain work, but failed to obtain any. They slept together, and during the night the prisoner unbuttoned his brother's shit, but at the time his brother took no notice of it and fell asleep. Soon after he felt a cutting at his throat ; he called out "Murder," and then discovered his brother with a razor in his hand cutting at his throat. Two other persons were sleeping in the same room and came to his assistance, and the prisoner was prevented doing any further injury. The razor was found in the bed covered with blood. There was no doubt that the prosecutor's throat had been seriously cut and wounded, and the only question was by whom the wound was inflicted. There was =other case in which a woman, named Eliza Robins, was charged with administering poison to two of her infant children. She was seen to go into a pastrycook's and buy a tart, and then cover it with a white powder, part of which she gave to one of the children, and the rest she put into the mouth of the other infant in her arms. On being charged with attempting to poison her children, she endeavoured to excuse herself by saying that she was not able to support them, and did not like their going to the workhouse. Upon the facts, as stated in the depositions they would have no difficulty in sending the case for trial. There were no less than seven charges of manslaughter. In one case a man named Josph B3gint was charged with killing a woman with whom he cohabited, named Ann Giffen.. It appeared that on the 3d of August she came home, when the prisoner charged her with being drunk, he himself having been drinking. He commenced beating her, and she was heard to cry out, "Don't beat me so, you will kill me ;" when he replied he would do so before he had done with her. He then knocked her down, and the day after she died. On examination it was found one of her ribs was broken and it had penetrated the lung. There was also a wound on the skull, and there was no doubt that the injuries were the cause of death. There was also a case of a woman named Sullivan, charged with stabbing and killing a man named White, with whom she cohabited. It appeared that there had been a quarrel between them, and that the deceased was endeavouring to force the prisoner out of the room, when she took up the knife and stabbed the deceased, and no doubt one of the main arteries was cut, causing the death. The wound was inflicted in a fit of passion, which reduced the offence from murder to manslaughter. The learned Recorder then remarked on the several other cases of manslaughter, and after some few other observations the jury retired to their duties.