The Sun. — 1850-03-14 (London, England)

LORD CHIEF BARON.) George Arnold was indicted for having feloniously shot at William Nixon, with intent to murder him. Mr. Prendergast, Q.C., and Mr. Sanders conducted the prosecution; Mr. Power appeared for the defence. The prisoner is married to the niece of the prosecutor's wife. In the course of the year 1848 the prisoner fell into had circumstances, and his wife sought refuge with her aunt, whose husband is a shopkeeper in Stoney Stratford. She and her child were received, and the prisoner remained in London ; be was, however, dissatisfied with the arrangement, and from time to time he sent letters to the prosecutor, containing applications for money, and also threats. wore disregarded, and, on the 10th of July last, while the prosecutor was standing in the street in front of his house conversing with a person at work there, the prisoner came up the street behind him, and fired off a pistol, at the same time saying "D— you." The prosecutor felt himself struck, and ran into his house the backway ; the prisoner ran into the house also, but by the front door, and  began at to break the windows with a gas, b rner. At the spot where the prosecutor had been a bullet was found, about three minutes afterwards, which on being touched blackened the fingers; the pistol was also found then warm. Surglans were sent for, and they found that the prosecu'or had received a very severe contusion at the back of the neck, the skin being broken, some blood having flowed, and a swelling, about the size of a hen's egg. The neckcloth also exhibited an indention. One of the surgeons inquired of the prisoner whether he had intended to 'hoot the prosecutor ; to which he made no reply. Tne surgeon then said, "Surely ycu did not intend to shoot Mr. Nixon ?" To which the prisoner replied, " I do not know that;" but would not say anything more. Subsequently, when in custody, he said to the constable that neither Nixon's life nor that of his child was safe, as he would sooner see it dead than under Nixon's protection.  In cross-examination it was elicited that the pri soner had on a former occasion made an unsuccessful attempt at suicide.  Mr: PowEa, for the defence, urged that the whole conduct of the prisoner showed that he had been at the time incapable of directing and governing his conduct ; and that, regard being bad to his previous conduct on former occasions, he must be taken to have been insane.  The CHIEF BARON summed up and told the jury., that nothing could be more dangerous than to infer the insanity of a man at the time be committed a crime, from the mere fact that he had committed it. llis Llrdship further remarked that, though the opinion of medical men on the subject of insanity might on some occasions be impugned as irrational, still it would be more irrational to find a man insane without any medical evidence at all. The jury deliberated for some time, and then inti• mated that they could not agree. The CHIEF Banost directed them to retire and consult further, and said that he must again warn them of the dangers that would threaten society were it to be known that by adding violence enough to the absurdity which more or less attended every crime, a man disposed to take the life of another might secure himself from the puni,hment due to his offence The jury, after being absent for an hour, returned into court and delivered a verdict of Guilty with intent to kill. Sentence deferred.