In the Central Criminal Court, on Tuesdey, James Curley was
tried on a charge of killing his wife. It appeared that the woman was in the habit of spendine at the alehouse the money her husband gave her to purchase neeesxaeies. One night lie mine home from work, and finding no supper and his wife lying on the bed intoxicated, he struck and kicked her several times. A woman, lodging in the next room, heard Curley's wife say--" Curley, that blow will be the death of ate; you have done it, you know you have." The woman soon died; and a surgeon gave an opinion that her death was caused by a rupture of the spleen. The prisoner received a good character ; and his counbel, Payne, addressed the Jury in his behalf— He was extremely anxious that the Jury should pronounce a verdict of at- quittal in fitvottr of his unfortunate client, instead of having a verdict of man- slaughter pronounced against horn, because, in consequence of a late decision of the present Secretary of State, in the case of time boy Coker, he was per- fixtly convinced that to expect a mitigation of punishment in any came and under almost any circumstances, for offences conunitted in this country, would be quite hopeless after that decision ; although, in a neighbouring country, all sorts of offences, from the highest to the lowest, were either par- dolled altogether or received only very sligot punishments. Indeed, so the was this spirit of liberality carried, that the prison-doors were thrown open to convicted murderers and felons; while, in this country, the same high func- tionary, who played such faotastic tricks with justice, refused to mitigate the sentence of the unhappy boy Coker, although there were ciretunstances jim his case which ought to have called fir a merciful revision. Knowing these things, he feared that it' the unfortunate man at the bar should he convicted of manslaughter, there would. be no hope Mr him, notwithstanding the goal character he had received.
The Recorder, in summing up the evidence, said— It was much to be lamented that, of' late years, the character of the people of this country had undergone a change for the worse, inasmuch as death -by violent means, whether by knives or blows, hail increased to a fearful extent. W nether the example afforded by the people of a neighbouring country, and whether the impunity which crime met with in that place, had spread a con- tagion to the people of' this better-regulated country, he would not say ; bat he was sorry to observe the result, to whatever cause it might be attributed..
The Jury found the prisoner guilty of an assault only-; and he was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, with hard labour.
On Tuesday, in the New Court, Sergeant Arabin sentenced a person of "respectable appeurance" to a month's imprisonment in Millhank Penitentiary, for kissing a girl twelve years old, in the parlour of a public-house kept by the girl's father. The Judge said that to kiss a person against her will, wits an assault in the eye of the law.
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