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Mr. Topping) used to designate a certain habit, as a habit of wetting a hollow tooth. But he should bring a witness before them to prove that he himself had wished for his indenture, and to contradict still farther his testimony, although that was hardly

necessary.

Ann Boyd, a servant of the defendant, gave evidence as to conversations she had had with the former witness. It was quite equivocal as to the fact of dismissal. She saw the former witness often intoxicated when he came home.

Stewart Carston, another apprentice of the defendants, said he slept with James Dockeray. They generally went to bed at the same time. James Dockeray drank their master's rum through a quill. He came home very frequently intoxicated.

Cross-examined by Mr. Scarlett.--He admitted that he had himself often come home drunk and concealed it from his master. It appeared that their master, mis sing some of the rum, called them both before him, and that they mutually charged one another with the fault.

Mr. Scarlett now called Nixon again, but his Lordship, after some consideration and argument, refused to receive him. Mr. Scarlett, therefore, began his address to the jury by pointing out the injustice done to his witness by imputing drunkenness and bad hours to him, while he could call no witnesses to repel those imputations.

Mr. Justice Bayley.-I am
You may call your wit-
I was wrong in allowing

wrong. nesses.

Carston to be examined. Part of the young woman's evidence may be material as referring to the dismissal. All the rest is irrelevant. You may call your witnesses to remove it.

Mr. Scarlett. If your lordship strikes out all that evidence, I have no occasion to call witnesses. He called young Dockeray up again to ask him one question as to the differences between him and Carston.

Mr. Raine. Just one word. Gentlemen, if you can believe that rum-sucker, give your verdict for the plaintiff.

Mr. Scarlett enforced with much point and cogency that the necessary inference from the letters to old Dockeray and to the attorney, and from the whole complexion of the transaction, was, that the defendant had dismissed James Dockeray. It appeared from the evidence that the apprentices had no other time for exercise but between eight and nine, and therefore it was not reasonable in their master to order them home before nine. Unreasonable orders they were not bound to obey.

Mr. Justice Bayley, in summing up, said, that he was anxious it should be known that apprentices were bound to keep the hours prescribed to them whether reasonable or not. Mr. Turner was wrong in supposing nine a good hour. Between eight and nine in the winter season, when darkness afforded facilities for concealment, was a very bad hour for young persons to have at their own disposal. Mr. Turner seemed alarmed at the society kept by young Dockeray. No

thing could more reasonably or more properly excite the alarm of an honest master. The associations formed during the seven years of apprenticeship were of the utmost importance. Credit or disgrace, success or ruin in life, might depend upon them. Mr. Turner's delay in giving up the indenture might have proceeded from a desire to afford opportunities for application to remain. No application, however, appeared ever to have been made. The first communication to Mr. Turner was from the attorney, and that, like most attornies' letters, probably threatened an action.

Verdict for the defendant.

GUILDFORD, AUGUST 12.

Trial of Chennel and Chalcraft, for the Murder of Mr. Chennel and his Housekeeper.

The account of this trial occupied much time, for which reason we shall confine ourselves to the summing up of the Judge, Mr. Serjeant Lens, before the Jury. He said he was not aware that he could do any thing more in this important case than merely recapitulate the different accounts given by the different witnesses of the conduct of the prisoners during the hours between eight and eleven on Monday, the 10th of November. If they could rely on any part of Sarah Hurst's evidence, the decision of the jury would be short and infallible. The conclusion would be inevitable if her word could be trusted; but her conduct did not tend to establish her credit. She, according to her own account, was VOL. LX.

appointed to watch while the murder was committing, and was therefore a party in the murder. She had charged others with the crime, and it was difficult to say, whether her charge was the effect of malignity, or the mere wandering or delirium of her mind. Whatever was the cause, her evidence was proportionally affected by it. Delirium or confusion of mind might apply to her evidence as regarded Scooly. But this excuse did not apply to what she said of her husband, when she malignantly and deliberately accused him of acting, as she had done, in assisting the murderers. She must have done so either to get quit of her husband, or some other hateful purpose, not easily conjectured; and then the jury were to consider how far a person of such a character was to be listened to. He was afraid that

her evidence must be laid aside, and that the jury must rely on the other evidence alone. The evidence on which the jury were to form their judgment included the minute points of time, of situation, of conduct, of declaration, and language. The declarations of Chennel's hatred were important; but the Jury were to consider that the expressions he used with regard to his father and his housekeeper, coarse and violent as they were, extended over a long course of time (as much as a year) before the fatal deed; and the Jury were to judge, whether they were the infatuation of criminality, unconsciously avowing its designs; or loose idle words, that had no definite meaning, and were never intended to avow any purpose. He thought that these expressions X

could

could hardly be taken to convey what they meant; and though they were not to be forgotten as evincing a general disposition to evil, and rendering what happened more probable, they were not to be relied on as declaring the intention of murder, which no man in his senses who meant to commit the crime would previously declare. The learned Judge then went over the different parts of the evidence, and showed its bearing on the guilt or innocence of the prisoners with great penetration, discrimination, and impartiality. The learned Judge concluded an address to the Jury of two hours and three quarters, about 10 minutes before 9 o'clock.

The Jury almost immediately returned a verdict of Guilty against both the prisoners.

GLOCESTER ASSIZES, AUG. 15.

We have now to call the attention of our readers to an event which we understand is unprecedented in the history of assizes holden in this country, namely, the fact of the commission for holding the assize for this county having been rendered nugatory, in consequence of its not having been opened before 12 o'clock at night on the commission day. We have already stated the fact, that Wednesday was the day appointed for opening this commission, and have also alluded to the anxiety which Mr. Baron Garrow expressed to perform that duty. Unfortunately his Lordship was unable to effect his object, for though he travelled with all the expedition his horses

and the hilly roads would permit, he did not reach the court-house at Glocester until after midnight. Long antecedent to this time Mr. Tommes, the clerk of indictments, had arrived in the town, and, attended by the Under-sheriff, the Mayor of Glocester, and several other gentlemen, had proceeded to the Court with their commissions, in order that they might be opened the moment his Lordship should arrive. These gentlemen remained in anxious suspense until the hour of twelve approached, when, apprehensive of the consequences that would follow the non-arrival of the Judge at that hour, every watch was drawn forth and compared. Time still rolled on

his Lordship did not arrive, and the hour struck. The second quarter after twelve had been completed, when his Lordship was announced, and the commissions were opened in the customary way; subject to what was then conceived to be an insuperable bar to their effectnamely, their not having been read on the day which in their own body was directed and appointed.

The

Matters rested thus until the arrival of Mr. Pugh, the clerk of assize, who entered the town at 10 o'clock in the morning, and immediately had a conference with Mr. Baron Garrow. result of this interview was a determination on the part of his Lordship to go into court after divine service, and to have the names of the grand jurors for the county and city called over; but to take no other step until Mr. Justice Holroyd, with whom he

was

was desirous of consulting upon so nice a question, had arrived. Mr. Justice Holroyd, who did not leave Monmouth till 9 in the morning, was expected at 2.

Between 12 and 1, Mr. Baron Garrow proceeded from the cathedral to the Court-house, which was crowded to excess by persons of all ranks. Among

others who had been summoned as a grand juryman was the Right Hon. Charles Bathurst, who was formerly a barrister on the circuit. Mr. Bathurst was in Court, and with him the learned judge had some conversation on the dilemma in which they were placed. Mr. Bathurst, we under stand, fully agreed with his Lordship on the propriety of waiting for Mr. Justice Holroyd, and after the juries had been called, an adjournment of the Court took place till 2.

On Mr. Justice Holroyd reaching the town, Mr. Baron Garrow communicated to him what had occurred, and they both applied themselves to the consideration of the difficulty which had arisen. Reference was had to all the authorities which it was thought might bear upon the subject, but nothing was found calculated to assist their Lordships' deliberations. In this state of things, and both of the learned Judges entertaining doubts of the legality of proceeding upon a commission which had not been opened on the day appointed, it was resolved to despatch Mr. Wilton, the Under Sheriff, express to London, with a letter to the Lord Chancellor, explaining what had happened, and soliciting his advice as to the course which it would

be proper to pursue. Mr. Wilton was immediately called in, and having received directions to prepare for his journey, he soon afterwards was furnished with the letter in question, and set off in a post-chaise and four for London, intending to reach the Lord Chancellor's house as soon as possible.

It was then resolved that Mr. Baron Garrow should go into Court, and have the grand juries sworn, so that they might go on with their business in finding bills.

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In the interim the utmost perturbation prevailed among the attornies engaged, both in civil actions and criminal prosecutions; 21 causes were entered for trial, of which 7 were understood to be undefended, and the calendar presented the names of 70 prisoners. This amount of business, although inferior to what has been known on former occasions, had collected together from distant parts of the county an immense number of persons, either in the character of witnesses, plaintiffs, defendants, prosecutors, or prisoners' friends, all of whom were, of course, deeply interested in the delay which now seemed unavoidable. To these might be added the petit jury panels, containing the names of not less than 100 persons, who had been summoned to attend the assize, at a great expense and at considerable inconvenience. If it should be considered necessary to issue a new commission, it was understood that all the usual steps taken under the old commission must be renewed. New juries would have to be summoned,

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fresh

fresh notices of trial given, and, in fact, all that had already been done, with a view to the trial of causes, would be superseded. In such a state of things, it is impossible to describe the sensations which every where prevailed. The trumpet having sounded, to announce that the learned judge was about to go into court, an instant rush took place, and in a moment the Crown Court was crowded in every part. On his Lordship's arrival on the bench, and the confusion which arose having subsided, he addressed the grand jury, of which the Marquis of Worcester was fore man, to the following effect :

"Gentlemen of the grand jury; It may be proper that I should explain to you the course which, in the very distressing, and to me very afflicting, circumstance in which my learned brother and myself are placed, we have thought it most expedient to take. It is now, gentlemen, perfectly well known to you all, that in consequence of the great pressure of business at the last county from which we have come, notwithstanding every possible despatch was used, I did not arrive in this place till some minutes after midnight. The commission under which we were appointed to assemble here required that we should commence our duties on the Wednesday. It has been the usual course to open the commission on that day, and, generally, nothing more has been done; the Court adjourned to the following day. On the present occasion the commission, from the unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances

to which I have alluded, was not opened within the time stipulated, and a difficulty has occurred in our minds as to whether it may be strictly correct to proceed with the business of the assize. Since I had the pleasure of communicating with you before, my learned brother and myself have given our best consideration to this new but important question, and upon the whole, we are of opinion, that the most prudent course will be, to charge you, gentlemen of the grand jury, to make inquiry into the matters which shall be submitted to you in the ordinary way, and to adjourn from time to time, to receive such bills as you may find. In the interim we shall omit nothing to remedy the inconvenience which has arisen. A messenger has been despatched to the Lord Chancellor on the subject, whose judgment we have thought it proper to consult. If, unfortunately, it shall be found necessary to issue a new commission, then nothing will have been done of an important or injurious nature. We shall abstain from taking any trials until after the answer of the Lord Chancellor has been received. When you are sworn, therefore, we shall adjourn, as I before said, to such time as shall appear most convenient for the reception of your bills; and it is now to be understood, that neither in this court nor in the other are any trials to be proceeded with, until Saturday morning. It is impossible, gentlemen, that I can refrain from expressing the deep and heart-felt regret which I feel at the disappointment, inconvenience, and additional expense,

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