The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — 1826-08-05 (London, England)

FORGERY. Joint Peek, alias deorge Watson, deseribed in the calendar as a merchant, who pleaded Guilty, yesterday, to four several indictments, charging him with having forged and uttered, in this county, four different bilk of exchange, purporting so be respectively drawn by certain foreign houses, and accepted and indorsed by trading firms in this country, having been humanely allowed by the Learned Judge time to consider until this morning, whether he would abide by his plea, or retract it, and take the chances of a trial, was, at the sitting of the Court, placed at the bar, when Mr. A no t.Plitts stated, on his behalf, that since yesterday some friends of the prisoner had arrived in the town, and having advised hint, in so serious a case, to stand an investigation of the various charges against hint, he now respectfully claimed the liberty of availing himself of the indulgence which the Learned Judge had so tenderly allowed him permission to seek, if he should be so minded. The prisoner now wished to withdraw his plea of guilty, and to take his trial on the plea of not guilty. Mr. ANDREWS and Mr. Baonnicx, Counsel for the prosecution, said they had Ito resistance to offer to the prisoner's request ; but they were placed in this difficulty, that, in consequence of the prisoner's pertinacious determination, expressed yesterday, of abiding by his plea of guilty, the witnesses for the Crown had gone away, and perhaps it might be impossible to procure their attendance again pending the present assizes, in which case there might be a failure of justice. A message should be sent after the witnesses, and if possible they should be brought back by Saturday morning. If this were found impracticable. the prisoner must con- I sent that the trial should be postponed until the next Assizes. The matter was ordered to stand over for an hour, at the end of which time an affidavit was produced, stating that one of the most material witnesses for the Crown, a gentleman near eighty years of age, had been taken suddenly ill on his way home, and that it was impossible his attendance could be obtained during these Assizes. Under these circumstances, it was moved to postpone the trial until the next gaol delivery. No objection was offered on the prirt of the prisoner; and it was accordingly ordered that the trial should stand over until the next Wirdez Assizes. MANSLAUGH'f ER. Robert Renton, a person of a most respectable appearance. *as placed at the bar, ter the purpose of being arraigned on the Coroner's Inquisition, charging him with feloniously killing and slaying Robert Renton, the younger, his son, a child of tender years, by striking him on the head with a leather strap, armed with a buckle, at Bromley, in July last. A bill of indictment had been prefereed against him for the same homicide, but it was ignored by the Grand Jury. Before he was put to plead to the Inquisition a conterence took place, between Mr. Adolphus, for the Crown. and the Learned Judge, as to the sufficiency of the record. It seemed that the Inquisition omitted to state any venue, either in the margin or in the body of the record, and consequently, the Learned Judge being of opinion that this was a fatal objection, directed the Inqui. sition to be quashed. There was another objection to the Inquisition, which would also have been fatal, namely, as to the mode by arich the death of the child was stated to have been occasioned. Before the prisoner was removed from the bar, Mr. ADOLPHUS, with the permission of the Learned Judge, I said a few words to the Jury upon the Subject of the case, Which had thus so satisfactorily terminated. Sonic interest was, no doubt. excited in their minds by the • nature of the offence from which the unhappy gentleman at the bar had been discharged—an offence at which human nature recoiled. As Counsel for the prosecution, tt would have been his painful duty to state the circumsrotees of he case, had not the Learned Judge; with that perspicuity lot