The Sun. — 1855-12-17 (London, England)

CRIMINAL COURT-(THIS DAY.  The December session of the above court was opened this morning by the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor, the Right Honourable the Recorder, Aldermen Sir C. Marshall and Sir R. W. Carden, Mr. Sheriff Kennedy. Mr. Sheriff Rose, Mr. Under-Sheriff Stone, and Mr. Under-Sheriff Rose, &c., &c. The first edition of the calendar contains the names of 65 prisoners. The Recorder, in his charge to the grand jury, congratulated them upon the fact that owing to the short period thal had elapsed since the last session the calendar was unusually light, and that their labours would consequently not be of very lengthened duration. The most serious case in thecalendar was a charge against an unfortunate woman named M`Niell, for the murder of two of her children by cutting their throats. There appeared to be no doubt that she had committed the act, and it appeared that she had previously been a most kind and affectionate mother, and there seemed to be no doubt that at the time she committed the fata deed she was not iu a sound state of mind. The grand jury, however, could not consider that matter, but it would be their duty to find the bill for murder, and theen question of the state of mind of the prisoner would another then be investigated by the petty jury. T charge against a woman of having attehniepreteldttoapmpueardraedr three of her children by drowning, tbhoefr• laboured under some in this case, also, that the prisoner delusion of mind, and that whiteasufferingfrd twomito she went out with three of her children, an of them were found struggling in the, he river at hCehlieelseda, and were taken out, but the third, since been heard of. The evidenee appeared htoad erhinmaetr present to be very slight against the prisoner; but, if the grand jury should consider it was sufficient to j,:stify further inquiry, they would be justified in finding the bill. There was another case of a rather unusual character, in which two prisoners, father and son, were charged with the crime of abduction. By a special Act of Parliament the act of taking any young girl from the custody of her parents, with the intention of marrying her or of obtaining her property, was made felony, but the present case he believed would assume the shape of a charge of misdeameanour, and to support that charge it was only necessary to prove that the parties had taken a girl under sixteen from the custody of her parents without their consent ; and it was not nece nary to prove any object or motive in the present CAM* He believed it would appear that the girl in quell• tion was entitled to an income of 701. or 801. SI year at the death of a relation, and it seemed that she bad gone away willingly, and there was reason to believe that although she was only thirteen years of ago she had cohabited with one of the defen• dents. His lordship then informed the grand jury that be believed that bills would be preferred at the present session against those policemen who were alleged to have made use of unnecessary violence npou the occasion of the disturbances in Hyde-park, and he said that although there had been no inquiry by the magistrates, yet there had been a very full investigation by a Commission,L which he (the Recorder) was a member, ei tra t wold dlourtdyshto. findi charges were made out by the eviden thwoiuthgihnt the be laid before them, it would be theirce bills against the parties accused. . His ip, n, concluding his observations,of right to call the attention practice that had sprung up, th the pd. strafes he toa operated very unfairlyconsidered ulrlaa depriveddof being made to. they'a— p r i prisoners, werene rs , acquainted with the would be called charges that they appeared to be the practice to commit a prisoner upon one charge onlyland to return the depositions upon tint charge, but when the session came on the officers in• aenndtitle structed the officials of the court to prefer other indict. ments for offences of a totally distinct character, and they represented that this course was adopted under the direction of the magistrates who committed the prisoner. He could hardly think this was the case, but the pre& tics had certainly extended, and it had the effect of re venting the prisoners from knowing what charges they were committed upon or which they would have to answer, and repeated complaints were made of the hardship that was thus entailed upon them, and he hoped the magistrates would consider the propriety of in the course to which he alluded. The grand jury then retired. persevering,