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    on Ercday week . An inquest has been , opened , but is not jet concluded . Execution at Leicester . —The execution of John Powkes for the murder of his nephew at Snarestone on the 25 th . of November last by filing at him through a window ,: took place in front of the Leicester County Gaol on Wednesday morning . The culprit for a long time denied his guilt , but at length confessed . Juvenile- Eeformatoby fob Worcestebshire . It has at length been determined , after a great deal of discussion , to establish a Juvenile Reformatory for Worcestershire .

    Braaawell that she hoped he would , pronounce sentence wifcluas lifcfcle ceremony as possible . The Change against a Magistrate oof Attempting to , Shoot a Man . —Dr . Pigott , a magistrate o £ Nottingham , was arraigned at the Nottingham Assjaes on a chargfe of attempting" to shoot a bailing who was sent to take possession of his furniture . The counsel for th ' e prosecution , said he did not consider the e-vir dence sufficient to support the accusation , and the doctor was accordingly discharged . George Grealing ,

    the bailiff , who waa indicted for an assault upon the doctor , was also discharged , no evidence being offered against him . Alleged BoegIiABT by a Tbadesman . —Frederick Stapleton , a man who described himself as a map publisher , ia Verulam-buildings , © ray ' s-ian-Jane , is under remand , at ClerkenwelL charged with a burglar in the house of a jeweller , ia . MarGnrnont-stireefi Briinswick-square , and with stealing several aridelea of great value .

    Itinerant Traders . —Several hawkers have been summoned by the police at the Westminster Office foi obstructing the thoroughfares by the sale of their commodities . They were all discharged with a caution ; and Mr . Arnold , the magistrate , commented severely on . the conduct of the police in conniving at the practice in some instances , and summoning the offenders in others . The Swjnfen Case . —A great deal of time has been occupied at the Stafford Assizes by an action to try whether the late Samuel Swinfen , of Swinfen .

    Hall , Staffordshire , was in a sound state of mind when he made Ms will on , the 7 th of July , 1854 . The plaintiff was the wife of his son , who died about a month before the father ' s death . To this lady the old man left all his real estate a * Swinfen , with the moveables thereon , leaving personal property to the extent of about £ 20 , 000 undisposed of , « nd ' divisible among his nest of kin . The defendant was a half brother of the late Mr . Swinfen , and he alleged that the testator was not of sound mind at the time he made the "will . Mr . Swinfen , junior , had married a woman in humble life—a servant—an-d had thus

    given offence to his father ; but , after a temporary separation , they came together again , and the wife was received with the greatest kindness by her father-in-law . Old Mr . Swinfen was physically infirm , and was attended by Mrs . Swinfen , junior . On tho death of her husband , " according to her own accountj Mr . Swinfen , senior , said to her , with the greatest kindness , " Don't cry , don't cry , my dear : I-will takecare of you ; " "but other witnesses said he was not sensible of his loss . A medical examination was made , and the doctor thought the drawing out of the will

    shbuld be postponed ; but it was signed a day pr two afterwards ( the 7 th of July ) , and the testator died oil the 26 th . It appeared that old Mr . Swinfen was not on very good terms with his half brothers , on account of his farther having left a good deal of his property to them . —An arrangement between the litigants was arrived at on Monday , after considerable difficulty , by which it is understood that it was agreed that the Chancery proceedings should be abandoned ; that the defendant , the heir-at-law , should have the estate 5 and that the plaintiff , the devisee , should have an annuity of £ 1 , 000 a-year and the sum . of £ 1 , 200 for costs .

    A Precocious Poisoner . —Flora Everett , a girl of fifteen , was tried at Dorchester on a charge <) f ad « ministering poison to William . Martin and Priscilla Martin , in whose house Bhe lived as servant . Having been accused of t aking some stockings , she put apiece of blue vitriol into the kettle , in consequence of which Mr . and Mrs . Martin perceived a strange taste iu their tea , and the latter , who had taken the niost , was made very ill . The girl was found guilty of the charge as regards Mrs . Martin , but acquitted as respects Mr . Martin . She was sentenced to penal servitude for six years .

    Murder at Sheffield . —James Hill lias been tried at York for the murder of Alfred Deakin , a child between three and four years of ago , whose throat he out while out for a walk which he induced the boy to take with him . No motive for the aot could be discovered ; and various ciroumstancoa iudioated the unsounduess of Hill ' s mind . On thia ground ho was aequittocl . A Light Punishment ivor . Manslaughter . — - Samuel Coinntou and William Abrani have boon found guilty

    at Bedford of the manslaughter of John Wttgataff . TUoy ware all labouring mon , and Wagataffj having made an accusation of dishonesty against Gonrpton , wuh chaLlongod to fight with tho latter . In the oourso of the ooutoHt ( Abram being Compton ' s second ) , WugHtaffwaa killed ; but , considering the provocation and tho facts that no unfairness waa re-sorted to , and . that tho accused had boon iu prison Bin . ce tho 24 th of September , they woro sontenood to a month ' s hwd labour each .

    Cauoot on the Roof . —Frederick Trevors , a wellknown thief and housebreaker , wuoao brother hw juMt boon committed at tho Surrey SeSBiona foi highway robbory , was caught on the roof of an emptj house iu Nowingfcon , over tho paropqt of whioh ho wai in tho aot of oliiabiug in ordor to outer tho adjoining

    Souse * . It apjpeared tHEcb tne elder of the two , togetaier with his sister , was an old' offender . As far back as Julyi 1860 , James" iKreen had been in custody as a suspected' person , but , on account of his age , and the apparent respectability off Ms appearance , lie was discharged . En the same year , he again appeared on a r iimiiar charge , and was again released . In May , 1851 , he was in custody on a charge of felony , and was then sentenced to three months' imprisonment . In June , 1352 , and in September of the same year , he was delivered up to ids parents . ' In January , 1854 , James arid his sister Martha , then a girl about twelve years of age , were tried at the Surrey Sessions , on a charge of h ^ usebreaking , when both were convicted

    and sentenced , the boy to six , and the girl to one jnoath ? s imprisonment . In May , 1854 , Martliawas tried at the Surrey Sessions , on two distinct charges of felony , and was sentenced to four months * hard labour . In September , 1854 , Charles made his first appearance at Lambeth as a suspected person , bat was given up to his father . In October , 1854 , James was again tried at the Surrey Sessions on the charge of house-breaking , and was sentenced to twelve months ' iiard labour . In December , 1854 , Martha and Cliarles were tried at the Surrey Session for stealing a quantity

    of tool ' s , and sentenced to imprisonment . In November last , James and Charles were brought up on a charge of being found in enclosed premises , and on that occasion the elder prisoner gave his name as Walter Scott , and both were sentenced to three mottths'imprisonment , so that they could nob have been many days out of prison , before they recommenced th « ir former practices . When taken into custody , th > ere was found on each a well-executed photographic likeness of the owner , and some cotton wadding , saturated with rouge .

    Extensive Fraud on the Liverpool Iron Wokks . —A clerk of the Mersey Iron and Steel Works , named John . Locke , was , on Saturday last , charged before the . Liverpool stipendiary magistrate , together With two dealers in scrap-iron , named Patrick Gallighan and Robert Murray , with having defrauded his employers , Messrs . Horsfall , of a considerable amount of property . For the last two years , Locke had been engaged to > receive and weigh any quantity of scrap , iron that might be offered for sale at Messrs . HorsfaU * s works , while the clerk , who ordinarily attended to that business , was otherwise engaged . Hating for seme time suspected the honesty of Locke ' s transaetiOBB with the cast-iron dealers , the manage ? of the rks set

    Wo a . watch over him to ascertain if his . suspicious were well founded , and , on Friday week , Bhortly after twelve o ' clock , seven loads , of scrap iron , five of Which belonged to Gallighan and two to Murray , were brought to the works for Bale . The carts were put upon the weighing-machine in succession , and the Weight , or alleged weight , of each was entered in a book by Locke , as was his duty ; and from the -weight entered in this book , the value , of the iron , ££ 15 s . per ^ ton , was paid . After the carts had been duly weighed and entered , the foreman of the yard came up , and the contents of one of the carts were immediately shot upon the scrap-iron heap . This having aroused the foreman ' s suspicions , as it was contrary to Ms express orders , he took care to prevent any of the other carts being emptied , and afterwards

    examined the weighing books , when it was found , on comparing the quantit y of iron enter ed in the books -with , that in the carts , which was re-weighed for the purpose , that the la tter was deficient in weight fonr tons , nineteen hundred weight , amounting in value to n « arly £ 24 . After this discovery , Locke was charged with making false entries , which he at once acknowledged , and stated that he had done it purposely , the practice having been originally suggested to him several weeks previously , by Qalligha-n , -who had paid him half-a-crown for a hundred weight of th « scrap-iron . These fraudulent transactions had b&en continually repeated at intervals , between Locke and Gallighan , in conse quence of which the former had made several sovereigns . As regarded Murray , it appeared that Looke had himself suggested the practico

    to him m the first instance , and that it had not been continued so long with him as it had with Qollighan . The manager of the works said he believed that Looko could not nave made lesa than £ 100 altogether by the fraud . The solicitor for Qallighan and Murray submatted that thore was no case against them , and that they ought to be discharged . They wore remanded , however , until Monday , together with Locfce , ; bail being refused . ' Another Case ov aixkged Poisoning . —Mary Brown , a young girl seventeen years of ago , lias died suddenly after a very short illness at Hwtlepool . Sho lived aa servant to Mr . Goorge Wilkinson , a surgeon , fc y whom report saye she was pregnant . She IlArl nflAll ITI T . nrt Ilnlilf . mMi > llr > „ £ 1 . 1 T ¦• .

    and a course of modioitttr was given to hor , by her noastw ' B orders , and was generally administered by Mr . Willdnsons housokeopor . She complained of pains in tho head , and alleged that tho medicine was very nasty . Sho vomited a good deal for some few aays before her death , and hor right hand became paralysed One day , on bolng lifted out of her bed 8 l * Q exclaimed , " It ' s death—death—death I" Sho died

    The bivaIi Corn-Cuttebs . —Two " chiropodists , " of the respective names of Kendall and Bernard , reside in Regent-street , in consequence of which , mistakes frequentl y happen , the bunion-afflicted sometimes , resorting to Mr . Kendall in mistake for Mr . Bernard , and being ( according to his own admission ) received by that practitioner , and told that "that scamp , " Mr . Bernard , had gone to Scotland , ¦ which was not the fact . The " scamp" at length went with a horsewhip to his rival ' s house , and was received with a kick on the shins , -which he retaliated "by a severe flogging . Mr . Bernard was then given into custody , and brought before the Marlboroug hstreet magistrate , who sent the case to the sessions .

    The Case of Seuf-Mutilation . —Lucy Constable , the servant-girl charged with wilfully maiming her person in order to exculpate herself from any suspicion of having abetted a burglary in her master ' s house , has been discharged . The wound in her throat was very serious , and , -with a little greater pressure , might have been fatal . TheRugeley Postmaster *—Sana . Cheshire , the late postmaster at Rugeley , was tried at Stafford on Friday week on the charge of opening a letter from t ) r . Taylor ,

    containing the report of his analysis of the remains of Mi \ Cook , supposed to have been poisoned by William Palmer . Mr . Huddleston , who defended the accused , admitted that his client had taken the letter out of the cover and read it ; but he argued that there was not sufficient evidence to show that Mr . Cheshire broke the fastening of the envelope . He was found guilty , with a recommendation to mercy , on account of the good character which he had received from several witnesses . Sentence was deferred .

    The Rxtgeley Poiboninos . —Tme bills , were found on Friday week at the Stafford Assizes against William Palmer for the murder of Mr . Cooke , and of his wife , Ann Palmer ; but the bill was ignored in the case of Walter Palmer , the brother . Burglary by a TiCKEr-OF-LEATE Man . —A young man , of one-ahd-twenty—a ticket-of-leave man—has been sentenced at the Surrey Sessions to six years ' penal servitude for burglary . He had been beard , while in prison for a previous offence , to give notice to a fellow convict that , on coming out , he meant to break into the shop of the prosecutor , a jeweller ; and hence he was arrested while in the act .

    The Admirable Crighton . — " A row , " as Lord Campbell would say , occurred in the pit of the Standard Theatre a few nights ago , and , on an officer of the establishment going to paGify or eject the disputants , one of them , named John Crighton , a carver , became very violent , struck the officer on the head , knocked him down , threw himself on his body , and bit his hand . He was taken into custody , and , being examined before the Worship-street magistrate , at first denied the biting , but afterwards begged for mercy . The admirable Crighton was sentenced to six weeks ' "imprisonment . The Case of alleged Perjury by a Gentleman . —Mr . Noldwritt , the gentleman charged with perjury in connexion with an actiou against him for the amount of a bill of exchange , his signature to which , as endorser , he swore to be a forgery , has been committed for trial .

    A Pioua Fraud . —Mary Ann Bennett , a single woman , has been ti'ied at Oxford on a charge of causing a false entry of baptism to be made in the register of the parish of Churchoaton . It appeared that the woman had a child whom she desired to be baptised , and that sho also wished herself to bo churched , and therefore represented herself aa the wife of a farmer named Bellas . It was proved that this was false ; but Mr . Baron Bramwell directed that , if her object was not to falsify the register , but to procure tho offices of religion for heraolf and her child , she could not bo found guilty . She was therefore acquitted .

    Tub Leeds Poisoning . —Tho inquest on Mrs . Dove has concluded with a verdict ofWilful Murdor against her husband . On the last day of tho examination , Mr . .. Nunuely , tho analytical chomiRt , stated that , to plaoo the rosult of the examination beyond any doubt , he and Miv Morley gave some of tho spirituoun extract obtained from the contents of tho Btomaoli to a guiuoa pig , two rabbit « . and two mioe , whioh , with tho oxooption of one of tho rubbita , died from © fleets exactly similar to those following tho application of Htryohnino . Some Btrychnino was also given to various imimals , with precisely the aamo results .

    Aliow Giiav has boon found guilty at the Oxford Assizes of * porj ury , and has been aontoncod to penal norvitudo for four years . Sho observed to Mr . Baron

    Untitled Article

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• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 22, 1856, page 271, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2133/page/7/