The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — 1826-07-24 (London, England)

CHARGE OF ROBBERY A,VD MURDER.  In the high Court of Justiciary, Edinburgh, on Wednesday, Hbo! Hamilton, weaver, gunnel Menenty, and Alexander M'Phie, weaver and shanker, were put to the bar, accused of robbery, as also murder, in so tar as, on the 24th of February, 1826, they did all and each, or one or more of them, within or near a park called the Midpark. forming part of the lands of Camlachie, in the barony parish of Glasgow, feloniously attack and assault Benjamin Lamont. private soldier in the 78th Regiment, who was then travelling to Glasgow, on his road to join his regiment, and did throw him on the ground, and by force and violence rob him of five one pound notes of the town and country bank of Aberdeen, a red morocco pocket-book, a regimental passport, and a small kindle containing a linen shirt, aprinted cotton handkerchief ; and did discharge at tie said B. Lamont, a pistol loaded with powder and ball, or-slugs, a tile or delft ware, or some other lethal hard substance; and the said balls having lodged in the left thigh of the said D. Lament, the bone of which was severely shattered, whereby he was mortally wounded, and continued to languish till the 15th of March, when he died. Witnesses were examined, who proved various facts connected with the outrage. and the depositions of the deceased were them read by the Clerk. The substance of these documents was, that the deceased, on his way to Glasgow, called in at a public-house in Parkhestl, and smoked a pipe. On coming out from thence he inquired of three men the nearest road to Glasgow. They then accompanied him out of the village. and conducted him through several fields, one of which appeared to be ploughed. Here lie complained of the badness of the road, and on his doing that one of the men seized hold of his arms and threw hint to the ground, and robbed him of the yrropesty described in the charge. One of the notes waa No.l-1 it. 11 bile he was in the act of again rising, ate: being deprived of his money. one of the•mcn said, " D— the —, he wtll give information, shoot him." and he immediately Bred • the contents were lodged in his thigh. The robbers then ran :if. The deceased, in consequence of loss of blood, became weak, but crawled towards the road, when a man came up and assisted him to the infantry barracks at Glasgow. A special defence of alibi was given in, and many witnesses were called in support of it. The Judge having summed up, the Jury retired, and after an absence of fifty minutes returned a verdict, finding, by a plurality of voices, the libel Not Proven. The Loan J1714714:1: CLERK, in discharging the Jury, observed, that lie was not surprised, (rem the long and painful nature of the case, of a diversity of opinions existing among them. lo dismissing the prisoners, his LORDSHIP said that they had made the narrowest of all possible escapes, and, from the verdict which had been returned, might consider themselves really fortunate men. Ile trusted that their future conduct would be such as to render it quite unnecessary to bring them again to the bar of that Court; and begged they would reflect, that they had not been dismissed iu consequence of a verdict of Not Guilty, but of Not Proven. 'fhe prisoners, who were all well-dressed respectable-looking young men, conducted themselves with propriety during the trial. The Court was extremely crowded during the whole time, the curie having excited more general interest than any niad for a long Period.  'clock, M