The Central Criminal Court has disposed of two cases, which,
when first reported, caused much excitement and indignation. One was a charge against Henry Fisher, an artilleryman, for the man- slaughter of his sister. It turned out on examination that Eliza Fisher was a confirmed maniac, with whom nothing could be done. She lived at the house of her brother, who was a married man, and her brother, his wife, the maniac sister, and a daughter of the pri- soner, sixteen years of age, slept in one room. There was no evi- dence to show that the poor creature was ill-treated, and it was clear that the prisoner, her brother, was not responsible. The jury there- fore found a verdict of" Not Guilty." In the second case, Mary Connor was charged with the man- slaughter of her child. But it was clearly shown that the sole foundation for the charge was the gossip of the women who lived in the same house. These two cases should serve as warnings to coroners' juries and the public not to indulge in the rash assumption that every horrible charge is true.
Mr. North, the Russian broker, was tried for larceny, in obtaining warrants for tallow from Messrs. Hubbard and Mr. Goss to the value of 10,0001., for which he gave checks on the Bank of London, having at the tune a balance under 10/. to his credit. After the case had been stated, the Lord Chief Baron ruled that such a proceeding did not amount either to larceny or to the obtaining goods under false pretences, and the jury were directed to acquit the prisoner. This ruling has excited considerable interest among the merchants connected with the Baltic trade. In the mean time it is satisfactory to learn that the warrants have been surrendered to the owners.
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