The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser. — 1853-08-16 (Liverpool, Merseyside, England)

CROWN COURT.  Mr. Justice Wightman, who presided, in his charge to the grand jury, said,—l regret to find that the calendar is very heavy. It contains the names of 124 persons, whose cases will be brought before you, including seven brought in since the calendar was printed, making altogether 98 distinct and separate charges. Some of these you will probably dismiss when they are brought before you ; but there is little doubt that there will be not much less than 100 cases to be, investigated at these assizes. Amongst those there are ten charges of homicide, including five of wilful murder, 11 of felonious wounding, 11 of robbery with violence, 20 of burglary ; and without troubling you with a farther enumeration, there are charges, I believe, of every offence known to the law except high treason. However alarming at first sight such a number and such a catalogue of crime may appear, it becomes less in reality when the extent of the population of the commercial towns of Liverpool and Manchester is considered, from which so great a proportion of the charges originate ; but it certainly does not appear by the present calendar that there has been any diminution in the amount of crime, although, as I am informed, there has been no waet of employment, and wages have been comparatively good. One of the most serious charges in the calendar is one of murder against Susan Campbell. It appears that the prisoner and the deceased were in a public-house in this town ; that she asked him for drink, that he refused, and , that she used ill language to him, when, according to the statement made, he slightly struck her with the back of his fingers ; that the prisoner then left the deceased, who remained in the same room; that she went away, and returned in a. few minutes, when she stabbed him in the neck, giving him a wound which caused death instantaneously. From the evidence, as stated in the depositions, I can find no reason for reducing the charge to manslaughter. There is a charge of murder against Daniel Miller. The occurrence took place on the high seas, on a voyage between Demerara and England. No third person appears to have been present at the time ; but the captain states that the prisoner, who was mate of the ship, came to him voluntarily and stated that he had =ordered the carpenter. He added, that he had done so in self-defence, and that the carpenter had attacked him with a. knife. I do not find anything to warrant you in finding a. bill for less than murder, under the circumstances brought out. A woman, named Mary Hodgkinson, is charged with the murder of a child, a few weeks. old, of which she was the mother. There is no doubt that the case is one of wilful murder, if the prisoner was in a state of mind at the time to be responsible, which, from the depositions, thennfortunate woman would hardly appear to be. The other two charges of murder are against women, cases of the murder of children of which they had just been delivered. There may be other cases which call for remark, and present points which, in so great a mass, require comment or explanation. Should such be the case during the'process of your inquiry, and you require assistance from' me, I shall be happy to afford it. But, before we part, I wish to mark an omission which I find. In all the depositions taken at Manchester, and some other places, it is not stated whether the prisoner was asked if he wished to make any statement, or whether he made any statement or not. I cannot suppose that the magistrates do not ask such a question ; but if any statement were made it ought to appear on the depositions, and if the prisoner declined. to make any, that fact ahould be given.. The omission isby no means conducive to the ends of justice, and I stronglyrecommend the magistrates to see that the practice is= altered for the. future, as it is most important that nothing which may legitimately occur at that , time should be kept back ;: and in many cases it is important to know for the sake of the public and the prisoner himself, what voluntary view of the transaction he gives when before the magistrates. And now, gentlemen, I will no longer detain you.  The 'grand. jury then retired; and shortly afterwards returned with several true bills into. court.