The Sun. — 1865-03-06 (London, England)

NISI PRIUS COURT. (Before Mr. Baron Pigott.) William Albert Simms was indicted for stabbing with intent to murder Joseph Sykes, at Chipping Norton, on the 27th of October last. Mr. A. S. Hill was for the prosecution ; Mr. T. S. Pritchard defended the prisoner. The case for the prosecution was that the prosecutor,  who was in the employ of a Mr. Lynes, a miller near Chipping Norton, had been sent in to Chipping Norton in the afternoon to fetch some yeast, and had spent about two hours and a half there in two publichouses ; that on his return home, having been dismissed by his master, he was carrying his things away in his box and was sitting on it by the side of the road, when the prisoner came up the road whistling, suddanly rushed upon him, and stabbed him three times in front and three times in the back with a sort of short walking-stick, with a pointed dagger at the end. It was a dark night, and though the prosecutor was the attacked party he did not cry out, but the prisoner shouted "Murder" more than once. Assistance appeared, but the prosecutor got into the ditch on the side of the road, and so concealed himself, and as soon as the new corner and the prisoner had gone away he got his box and went over a hedge to the stable of his master (Mr. Lynes) where he passed the night. The next morning he told the postman, who was the first person he appeared to, have seen, that marks of blood and a pain in his side were to be accounted for by the fact that he had had a bad fall the night before from a ladder, and later in the same day he gave information to the police of what had taken place. The prisoner's case was that he had been having tea with his father, and afterwards started to return to Chipping Norton with him and a young brother, who left him at his father's stable, after which he went on his road alone ; that after parting with his father for five minutes he was suddenly attacked by the prosecutor, and in self-defence he used the dagger-stick which he had with him ; and that when assistance came he searched in every direction for the man who had attacked him, but was unable to find him, and he supposed he had run away. It appeared, however, that he had no wound upon him. He despatched friends to Chipping Norton to try and discover his assailant, and before the prosecutor laid his complaint he informed the police. It appeared that the prisoner was a travelling agent of the Friend-in-Need Society, and had had the dagger-stick made in order to protect him at night from dogs and men in his rounds to collect moneys for the society. He had met with an accident some time back which rendered his nerves weak. The prosecutor was stated to have been drunk on the night in question; and it was alleged that he was unable to give an account of what took place. The prisoner was sober, and bore a very good character.  His Lordship left it to the jury to say whether they thought that the prisoner acted under the impression, which proved unfounded, that the prosecutor intended to attack him, and whether he used violence inadequate to the occasion.  The jury found the prisoner guilty of unlawfully wounding.  His Lordship said it appeared to him that the prisoner had not the evil intention in his mind imputed to him by the indictment, but that, misled by a morbid imagination that the prosecutor had the design to attack him, he had used violence entirely unjustifiable. The sentence was six calendar months' imprisoment, with hard labour.