The Sun. — 1868-01-27 (London, England)

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.  The January session of the Central Criminal Court was opened this morning by the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, Alderman Sir R. Carden Alderman Sir B. S. Phillips, Ald She e :: ol Davidsonne d, al 1. calendar re. Sheriffcontains tn d. Roche) tohl ehl e`nta, rmtpe csu. r,o , f hBc3e. TheOfiririers. Of this number 20 are caoimnsmitted from the under-sheriffs andffitsio n( SheriffMo cis r rst ris Kent, of t, anLdonl2dofi, rlom46om thfreeoul\nltidydolfesseixu, 2 Surrey. Essex, .oTheoff 3 from en cesare larceny forgery.4' feloniously f:,ohnrtshees castingt person,e i ng 3e o,szrhcro:us 2,isve be rsflet ueaaikaliinnigg, thus classified : Arson 4, concealing bankrupt's estate 1, bigamy 1, burglary. 11, uttering counterfeit coin 23, embezzlementaf forcible rdcpi bo lset letter 1, misdemeanour 13, murder 2, receiving stolen goods 1, rape 1, robbery 5, and feloniously wounding 1. entrylarceny 21, —The Recorder, in charging the grand jury, said the first case to which he would refer was an indictment for wilful murder against James Conning, a seaman, and they would be under the disadvantage of not seeing the witnesses on whose evidence the crime was to be made out. The depositions were taken before a consul at a foreign port, and if the witnesses were not in this country the depositions would be taken as evidence. It appeared that the deceased and a companion had been on shore and returned drunk, some quarrelling taking place after they came on board which resulted in the prisoner stabbing the deceased. The statement he made was that he did so in self-defence, and under the whole circumstances he (the Recorder) did not think the crime would amount to more than manslaughter. There was also a charge of murder against an Italian named Morelli. In this case there was no pretence that the prisoner's own life was in danger, but it might be considered whether, the crime being committed in the heat of blood, there was sufficient evidence to support the capital charge. The learned Recorder next alluded to a charge against a woman by the name of Eliza Collins, for the murder of her child by leaving- it exposed in a field, and stated that the question for the jury to consider was whether there was any intention that the child should die. There wasa charge preferred under extraordinary circumstances against Thomas Wagstaffe and his wife. The charge was to the effect that the parents caused the death of their child by neglect, and it appeared they were members of a sect who called themselves " The Peculiar People. One of their tenets was that it was contrary to the teachings of Scripture to have recourse to medical advice for the restoration of health, and the course they adopted was to anoint the child and pray to God for its recovery. The child was suffering from inflammation of the lungs, and the medical testimony was, that if advice had been sought it would have had a fair chance of life. It was dif6;:mli to say that death was caused by the neglect of the parents, but it was a matter for regret that any body of people should so pervert the words of Scripture as to neglect the means usually resorted to in cases of illness. The Recorder proceeded to comment on some cases of minor importancer and the jury then retired to their room for deliberation.