The Sun. — 1859-01-31 (London, England)

CRIMINAL COURT.-(THIS DAY.)  OLD COURT.  The adjourned sessions at this court commenced this morning, before the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, and the other civic authorities. The Recorder, in charging the grand jury, congratulated them -on the state of the calendar, which contained a fewer number of prisoners for trial than usual. There was no charge of wilful murder, and .only one of manslaughter, and that was rather of a peculiar character. The facts were to a certain extent involved in obscurity, and the depositions, as was frequently the case, were so badly written that it was almost impossible to read them. The prisoner ran against the•deceased and knocked him down. He was taken to the hospital, but death eventually ensued, and the question for the jury will be—first, whether the injury was occasioned by the prisoner, and, next, whether that injury was the cause of death ; and, if it should be made out that the deceased was knocked down accidentally, and that the prisoner had no intention of causing any mishap, in that case the death would have arisen from misadventure, and the prisoner would not be liable to a criminal charge.• There was a charge against a mother of throwing her child out of a window. It appeared from the evidence that the woman was roused by an alarm of fire, and that she seized her child and throw it out of the window, at the same time crying out " Save my child." If they should be of opinion that she really intended to endeavour to preserve her child from fire, then they would be justified in finding a bill of assault only. The other case alluded to by the learned judge was that of Ann Collyer, charged with setting fire to her master's house. 110 said, before the jury could return a true bill against her they must be satisfied that the fire could not have taken place accidentally, and that the evidence excluded the supposition that the act could have been committed by any other person. If, in the exercise of their duties, the jury should stand in need of any assistance he would render the required aid immediately. The grand jury then retired, and after a short time the trial of the prisoners was proceeded with. Reuben Michael, a respectably-attired man, was indicted for perjury, which it was alleged was committed before Mr. Justice Willes, at the sittings at Guildhall, at a trial in which the prisoner was the plaintiff. Mr. Orrige, in stating the case against the prisoner, was stopped by the Recorder observing that he did not see in the depositions any corroborative evidence of the charge • against the prisoner. It was a well-known fact that a charge of perjury could nut rest on the evidence of one person. Mr. Orrige said all the evidence ho had to offer appeared on the depositions. The Recorder said it was insufficient, when a verdict of not guilty was immediately returned, and the prisoner was discharged. Daniel Chilvers was indicted for stealing, at West Ham, 221bs. of brass fittings, the property of the Eastern Counties Railway, also with feloniously receiving the same, well knowing it to be stolen, and also with having been previously convicted of felony. The prisoner pleaded guilty. The Recorder, before passing sentence, called for the certificate of the former conviction. The document set forth that Chilvers had been convicted in 1844, 1855, and 1856. An inspector of the Metropolitan Police then informed the Court that the prisoner, after the three conviction* ust mentioned, was also confined for 12 months in Maidstone Gaol for a very daring robbery. The police had for some time been on the look-out for him, as he was considered one of the most expert thieves in London. The Recorder said it appeared that lenient punishment had no effect on the prisoner, who would, however, for some time to come, be well looked after, as the sentence of the Court was that he be kept in penal servitude for four years.  Mary Sloman pleaded guilty to an indictment charging her with feloniously concealing the body of her dead child in a cellar. Sentence deferred.