which name she had before been relieved; that impostors
had been numerous; that Biggs did not appear seriously
ill to an unprofessional eye; and that the officer's duty,
as to the discretion he might exercise, had not been
clearly defined. Without waiting to deliberate, the
jury found the prisoner "Not guilty," and assured him
that he was honourably acquitted.

Mary Savill, a woman of thirty-one, was tried at the
Chelmsford Assizes, on the 6th, for Firing a Stack of
Oats at Great Chishall. Last year, the grand jury
ignored the bill against the woman, and she was
discharged; she thought this was the same as an acquittal,
and she avowed her guilt; this led to her second arrest,
and the present trial. She was convicted. Sentence,
seven years' transportation. H. Hitchcock, a young
fellow who had been before convicted of felony, was
found guilty of Firing a Farm at Braintree, whereby a
large amount of property was destroyed. The sentence
was fourteen years' transportation; for which the
impudent culprit thanked the judge.

W. J. R. Smith, formerly a clerk in the Admiralty,
and Charles Niblett, were indicted at the New Court, on
the 7th, for Forging and Uttering Certain Papers,
whereby they obtained money from the Admiralty.
This was the case where the government was defrauded
by forged papers purporting to be signed by secretaries
of colonies authorising the conveyance of distressed
seamen to England, on which the Admiralty pay money
for their subsistence during the voyage. Smith pleaded
guilty to stealing a book the property of the Queen.
The case was not proceeded with as regards Niblett,
since it was apparent that he was only the servant of
Smith; and the plea of the latter with respect to the
larceny seems to have rendered the pressing of the
indictment unnecessary. He was sentenced to two years'
imprisonment.

On the 7th, Elizabeth Higgins was tried for Attempting
to Murder her Three Children by drowning them
in the Regent's Canal. The distressing details of this
case were recounted in our last number. It was elicited
in cross-examination that the poor woman was sober
and well-conducted; her children appeared to be clean
and carefully kept. In his address to the jury for the
defence, her counsel urged that their verdict must be
"Insanity," or "Not Guilty." He thought they might
well give the latter; in her desperation at the neglect
and brutality of her husband, the woman had jumped
into the water without any definite intention to destroy
her children and herself. The judge, in summing-up,
warned the jury against adopting such a view of their
duty. A verdict was at once returned of "Not guilty,
on the ground of the jury's belief that at the time the
act was committed the prisoner was in a state of
temporary insanity." Some doubt arose whether this
verdict was tantamount to one of simply "Not guilty;"
and the matter was reserved for the decision of the
Criminal Court of Appeal, the woman to be detained
in the meantime.

James Boag, a man respectably connected, and
formerly in the Bank of England, was tried at Chelmsford
on the 7th, for altering the Register of a Marriage,
and a book kept at St. Runwald's, Colchester; a
felonious offence. The alleged object was to gain an
advantage in a lawsuit respecting £10,000, left by a
man deceased, in which Boag was one of the parties
concerned. The case was fully made out. The counsel
for the defence urged that there was no motive for the
act imputed: the register had been seen by numbers of
persons before it was said to be altered, and the register
itself was kept with much laxness. The prisoner was
convicted, and the sentence deferred.

The decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy
Council in the case of Gorham v. the Bishop of Exeter
was delivered on the 8th, in presence of a crowded
audience of distinguished persons; Lord Langdale read
the written judgment of the court, and stated that
Vice-Chancellor Knight Bruce was the only dissentient.
It was to the effect "that the doctrine held by Mr.
Gorham is not contrary or repugnant to the declared
doctrine of the Church of England as by law established;
and that Mr. Gorham ought not, by reason of the
doctrine held by him, to have been refused admission to
the vicarage of Brampford Speke:" therefore, that the
sentence of the Arches Court of Canterbury ought to
be reversed; and that it ought to be declared that the
Lord Bishop of Exeter has not shown sufficient cause
why he did not institute Mr. Gorham to the said
vicarage; and finally, that the cause be remitted to the
Arches Court, "to the end that right and justice may
there be done."

At the Assizes at Swansea, on the 8th, Mr. Rhys, an
engineer, obtained a verdict of £1500 against Messrs.
Hall, manufacturers of gunpowder and gun-cotton, for
having invited him to witness an experiment with gun-
cotton, and managing it so carelessly that an Explosion
took place and he lost his sight. The damages were
laid at £10,000.

At the Lambeth Court on the 9th, O. I. Hairby, a
surgeon, appeared on an Affiliation Summons. The
prosecuting counsel stated that in all his professional
experience he did not recollect one of a more dastardly or
heartless description. In the year 1843, Rhoda Southgate,
entered the service of the father of the defendant,
a medical gentleman, carrying on his profession in
Marlborough-place, Walworth-road, and remained there
till about six months ago, when her pregnancy was
discovered, and she was turned out of the house. For some
time the defendant paid his addresses to her. Under the
most solemn assurance of making her his wife, he
succeeded in seducing her; the result was the birth of a female
child. The poor girl, from her wages of £10 a year, had
managed to save £30, and every farthing of this the
defendant borrowed, so that when turned out she became
penniless, and being ashamed to return to her family,
had it not been for the humanity of others, must have
perished from want. The Magistrate—(to the defendant)
—"Well, is it your intention to fulfil your promise
to the young woman?" Defendant (in a drawling
tone)—"No, Sir; you know circumstances make a
great change in feelings and dispositions." "Yes, I
suppose the change took place in yours when you
succeeded in seducing this poor girl, and borrowing the
whole of her money. What are you?" "I have been
brought up to the medical profession, but I am, at
present, a warehouseman in Wood-street. I don't deny
that the child is mine, but the greater part of the money
I gave back." This the young woman denied on her
oath, and declared she had not a single penny of the £30
returned. The magistrate said—"There can be no
doubt that you robbed this poor woman of her virtue,
her money (for I call it a robbery), and her honesty, in
refusing to marry her. Your conduct has been most
heartless, and I shall make an order for the highest
amount allowed by Act of Parliament." The magistrate
also expressed a hope that proceedings would be
taken in the County Court for the payment of the
borrowed money, and the solicitor replied that he should
lose no time in doing so.

W. Smith, apprentice to Mr. Pope, tea-dealer,
Finsbury-pavement, and John M'Nay, errand-lad, were
charged at Guildhall, on the 10th, with Absconding
from their Master's Service. A constable of the Detective
Force had brought them up from Biggleswade,
where they had been detained on suspicion of having
committed some offence, as they were each armed with
a pistol and a dirk, and had a greater supply of cash
than might be expected from persons of their appearance.
Mr. Pope accounted for the possession of the implements
of death, by stating that the mind of his apprentice had
been poisoned by reading novels of which robbers were
the heroes, and he had no doubt from the purchases they
had made that they had resolved to become villains of
that class. He had run away for a few days on a former
occasion, when he lurked about on the country roads;
but upon voluntarily returning, and begging forgiveness,
complainant received him again into his house. Mr.
Pope said he did not mean to press any charge against
the errand-boy, and as to the apprentice he was willing
to receive him again if he would solemnly pledge
himself to the magistrate that he would never offend again.
On obstinately refusing to do this, he was committed to
work on the cranks at Bridewell, for three months.

A melancholy Suicide has taken place at Woolwich.
About six months ago, a publican residing there, in a
respectable way of business, together with his son, a
promising young man, about 24 years of age, were