The Potteries Examiner : — 1874-01-10 (Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England)

CHARGE. The Chairman, in chr rging the Grand Jury, said he was sorry to say that the business which would come before them was very much in excess of the business before the Grand Jury at the corresponding period of 1872. At the last Winter Assizes Mr. Justice Keating congratulated the Grand Jury upon the state of the calendar as compared with the preceding year. There had been no doubt a diminution of the more heinous of enceg, but the state of the criminal calendar of the Assizes did not come before him. He was sorry to say that daring the last quarter there had been a great amount of crime, here were 72 cases tried at the last Michaelmas Sees e, as against 57 in the preceding year ; and there were 172 cases under the Criminal Jurisdiction Act, as against 78 in the preceding year, or an increase of nearly 100. There were also 35 juveniles tried, as compared with 30; and 14 persons were taken into custody and discharged, making a total of 306, as compared with 191 for the corresponding quarter of 1872. The calendar at the present Sessions contained the names of 99 prisoners, as against 84 in the corresponding quarter of 1872, and 58 in the preceding year. They thus saw that in two years the eriminal aslendar had nearly doubled. Of the ninetynine prisoners now for trial, as many as thirty-seven had been previously convicted. He had not read the whole of the depositions, in consequence of some arriving too late, and others being so badly written that they could not be read without great labour. He thought, however, they would find that the greater number of the offence& consisted of robberies of wearing apparel and money. There was, fortunately, only oue case of assault against women. but there were three of severely cutting and wounding. There was also a number of frauds, and abed case of breaking into • warehouse, and stealing wearing apparel. There was -one ease which did not often come before them—that of attempted to commit suicide. Of course, if the man had actually committed the crime there would have been an end of him. As it was, it was an offence against the law, and a man doing so rendered himselfliable to imprisonment or fine. There were also several eases of ringing the change," and some other caws which were known as " long firm cases." He had had no opportunity of looking at the depositions in these cases, but the jury would probably find that there were two indictments—one for conspiracy and the other for obtaining goods tinder false pretences. There was one case which it might strike them should have been dealt with before it came there—that of a man indicted for stealing two sticks of celery. No doubt the justices had good reason for sending the case to be tried at the neurons. There were no less than seven cases of horse stealing in the calendar, which was a very large number, because latterly the county had been tolerably free from those crimes. In all these cases, with the exeep- , tion of one, the horses had been taken from fields at night, and afterwards offered for sale. He was afraid they must feel astonished at the number of persons agninst whom proceedings were t alien for being unlawfully drunk and disorderly, and the assaults consequent thereupon. No doubt, some of the cases coming before them that day were the results of drunkenness. Notwithstanding all the efforts made by a great many zealous people to stop drunkenness, it seemed to ho on the increase. It appeared that, op to of all trouble taken, a great number of working people in this country in daps of prosperity could think of no other amusement but that of getting drunk. They saw that it occurred generally twice in the year, and at the annual wakes and at annual festivities at Christmas time, so determined were people to have drink, that at those periods licensed victuallers attended almost in a body at Petty Sessions to ask for an additional hour for business. He was afraid that in some places the justices consented to it on a very large scale. The chairman concluded by again directing the Grand Jury's attention to the provisions of the Act relating to agricultural chit. dren, which will come into operation on the Ist of January, 1875. The Grand Jury were then dismissal to their duties.