The sentences on the prisoners convicted at the Old Bailey

Sessions, which terminated this week, were passed on Monday. John Pearce and James Farrel were sentenced to death, for robberies from the per- son ; eighteen. were sentenced to transportation for life ; eight for four.. teen years; and a number to transportation and imprisonment for shorter terms.

On Monday, Henry Cox was indicted in the Old Bailey New Court, for embezzling 101. belong to his master, Mr. Dignum, an attorney. The prosecutor was called but did not appear.

Mr. Phillips, who appeared for the prosecution, said he would come shortly. The Common Sergeant—" We must have but one rule, which must he un- deviatingly acted upon; nevertheless, I should be sorry to let a guilty man es- pe"

he Jury acquitted the prisoner tinder his direction.

The Common Sergeant told the pi isomer '.50:1:ti he a to

him.

Mr. Phillips—" He has had warnings. He was tried on Saturday, and ao• quitted; but there is another indictment against him." The Common-Sergeant said he should then adjourn the Court for half an hour.

Mr. Doane (counsel for the prisoner) trusted, that as the prosecutor did aot appear, it would be inferred that no charge could be sustained against his client. The Common Sergeant—" I should do wrong to suffer such a person to get off." Mr. Phillips said he had been guilty of twenty similar offences within a fort- night. At ten o'clock the prisoner was again arraigned on a charge of em- bezzling 1/. 7s., and a further sum of 10/. the property of Mr. Dignum. On this charge he was found guilty ; but recommended to mercy by the Jury.

At the Middlesex Sessions, on Wednesday, the decision of Sir F. Roe against Mr. Twining the tea-dealer, for allowing a truck to be wheeled over the foot-path opposite his shop, writs reversed ; on the ground that the truck was used for loading and unloading goods, which was allowed by the act, and not to supply customers. [ What became of the goods with which the truck was loaded at Mr. Twining's door? were they not sent to customers?] Mr. Alfred Taylor, who is connected with the respectable house of David Taylor and gons, Cross Street, Finsbury, and Mr. E. W. Hardy, a clerk in the India House, were examined at the Mansion- house on Monday, on a charge of assaulting Mr. Edward Jenkyns, an- other clerk in the same establishment. Mr. Jenkyns, accompanied by his friend Mr. Sharp, went to; the Ship Tavern on Saturday, by ap- pointment, to see Mr. Taylor, relative to a misunderstanding which had taken place between them on some matter of business. Mr. Taylor had a friend, Mr. Hardy, with him. What then took place will appear from the following extract from Mr. Jenkyns's evidence.

Mr. Taylor asked him to admit having sisd certain expressions in the course of a conversation which had passed between them at the East India House ; but he refused to make any admission of the kind : stating, at the same time, his surprise how he could have been so misunderstood or misinterpreted. In an instant, 3Ir. Taylor struck him violently in the mouth with the back of his hand. As the assault was completely unexpected, he was off his guard ; and

Mr. Tayler contrived to pinion him and bold him with one hand, while with the other he seized a stick, which was no doubt brought for the purpose, and began to exercise it most roughly. Witness then succeeded in wresting the stick out of the hand of his assailant ; and in the struggle they fell together ; but the former managed to lay the stick across the shoulders of the latter, and said, that in his report of the circumstance he must not forget that the same stick had been laid across his own shoulders.

The Lord Mayor observed—" I suppose the meaning of it was that duelling was intended ?"

Mr. Alfred Taylor—" No, my Lord ; Mr. Jenkyns has no disposition in the world to such breaches of the peace as duelling comprehends." Mr. Jenkyns—" When he began to use the bludgeon upon me, I called out to my friend, Mr. Sharp, to go for a Policeman. My friend immediately tried to get out of the room ; but Mr. Hardy put his back against the door, to pre- vent that assistance from being rendered, and said I had had enough." Lord Mayor—" And you had stated to him, in the first instance, that the impression as to the words you used arose from a misunderstanding of what you really slid say? " Mr. Jenkyns—" Certainly I bad. I never for a moment supposed that I should have received a blow."

Mr. Taylor—" Did I not call you a d-41 liar? " Mr. Jenkyns—" I dare say- you did. You were not particularly delicate in your language." Mr. Taylor—" Did I not call you a shuffling coward ?"

Lord Mayor—" I see the feeling by which you are influenced ; and depend upon it, you will not get so easily over this business as you think." Mr. Taylor—" The fact is, my Lord, this arose out of a disagreement which I was deputed to settle."

Lord Mayor—" And so you thought the best way to settle it was to knock the man down."

Mr. Taylor—" I found it necessary to call him a coward, and to threaten to kick him out."

Lord Mayor—" Then you must send for bail." Mr. Hardy—" The bail is ready." Lord Mayor—" And we'll include Mr. Hardy, who kept his back against the door."

Mr. Hardy—" Oh, with all may heart." Lord Mayor—" The case is a gross one; and I think the Directors ought to see whether these young men do not get more money than their labour is worth. If they had not plenty of idle time upon their hands, they would not have engaged in so gross a transaction."

The defendants were then bound over to answer the complaint at the Sessions.

Four men and a woman were brought before Mr. Laing, at Hatton Garden, on Monday, charged with rescuing Sarah Brown on the Fri- day previous, when in custody on a charge of felony, as mentioned in last week's Spectator. Two of the men were remanded, and the others ordered to find bail.

James Paul, lately an agent to tire Society for Promoting the Circu- lation of Religious Books among the Poor, was charged at the Guild- hall on Tuesday, with stealing a quantity of the books, on the 4th September last; and Mr. William Johnstone, the printer of the Old Bailey Sessions-papers, was also charged with being an accomplice in the theft. A long examination took place ; in which Sir Peter Laurie followed his usual course of questioning the accused, who by the advice of Mr. Phillips, their counsel, refused to answer them. It was pre- tended that Paul had only taken his own books. It was proved that he had on one occasion at least received more money for books sold than he had entered in the Society's books. The examination was adjourned till Wednesday ; when some additional evidence was pro- duced, and Paul was committed to prison, and Johnstone ordered to had sureties for his appearance at the Sessions.

Several inhabitants of St. Bride's attended before Sir Peter Laurie yesterday, to answer the complaint of the Overseers for refusing to pay the Poor-rates, because the registration-shilling under the Reform Act had been added to the sum demanded of them ; whereas being previously Liverymen, and entitled to vote, they gained nothing by the registration.

Sir Peter Laurie sail, that before they began to expound the law, he would

ell than what was the common sense of the matter—that it was oppressive to sake a Liveryman contribute towards a process by which he obtained no new privilege, and by which, in fact, he was injured, by swamping him and diud- abating his influence. Mr. Smith, the Vestry Clerk of St. Bride's, said he was not there to defend dia common sense of the Reform Act, but to show how the law actually stood. By the '!7th section, every wale person not subject to any legal incapacity, occu- pying a houme of the annual value of 101., is qualified to vote, it registered ; and he Overseers were directed to make out a list of such persons, with a penalty of 5001. hanging over them in the event of their not complying with the law. fie had advised the Overseers, that by the terms of the statute they were to re- turn Liverymen as well as others who occupied 10/. houses, nod that the law withorized them to omit only one description of such occupiers—those sub- ject to any legal Incapacity. A Liveryman might lawfully wave his right to

rote as such in the (handbill, ' ea into vote as a householder in his district ; and it was necessary therefore to his name s' cued be registered as an occupier, and the Overseer might be fined for any omission. Again, he submitted that the whole poor-rate might be endangered awl vitiated if they were to omit to sharge the shilling;, as required by law.

Sir Peter Laurie did not think that in Marylehone, where lie was the returning officer, the shilling was charged. But a person present said he was mistaken on !hat point. Mr. Farr, an inhabitant, said, the point was, that by the 44th section the they of the Overseer was plainly defined. 1k was to prepare a list of persons en- idea to cote " by virtue of that act." Now, the Livery were entitled to vote wriwinusly, and not by virtue of the act.

The decision of the question was postponed, as Sir Peter could not make up his mind respecting it, but promised that he would give his decision in a few days.

Mr. Cobbett, M.P., was summoned before the Queen Square Magistrates, on Wednesday, by an informer, for not having his name nropeily painted on a cart used on his farm at Ashe, near Guildford. It appeared that the summons had been left at Bolt Court, instead of on the premises at Ashe ; and a new summons was accordingly issued.

N the Bankruptcy Court, on Wednesday, some debts were proved against the estate of Mr. James Cochrane, the bookseller. A gentle- man appeared to prove to the amount of 97/, for Sir Charles and Lady Morgan, being their claim for contributions to the Metropolitan Maga- zine, at the rate of sixteen guineas a sheet, the same as Mr. Colburn paid for their contributions to the Nile Monthly. Mr. Cochrane ex- pressed his belief that Sir Charles was to have only twelve guineas, and her Ladyship sixteen. The question was not then decided; the Coin- missioner said he would wait to hear Mr. Colburn's evidence ; as it appeared that Mr. Cochrane had undertaken to pay the same as Mr. Colburn.

Lord Bathurst's steward has plundered his master to the extent of about 7,000/. Tradesmen's bills for four years remain unpaid, although the money for their discharge had been regularly given to this man by Lord Bathurst every Christmas.

On the evening of Saturday last, some villain fired an air-gun at the ihop-window of Messrs. Aldwinekle and Bromfield, chemists and druggists, Tottenham Court Road. The ball, which was as large as a small marble, perforated a square of glass, and, whizzing past the face of a gentleman standing there, struck the wall, and was found at the further end of the shop. A similar outage was committed on the previous Saturday ; and although the shopman op both eceasions imme- diately ran out, no person was observed near the spot to whom suspi- sion could be attached.

On Monday morning about one o'clock, a fire was discovered on hoard the Dover Castle, steam-vessel, lying close alongside the St. Katharine's Wharf, which extended so quickly that in a short time the dames burst forth with great fury, causing the utmost alarm, and threatening the destruction of the extensive baggage warehouses and sheds ashore. To prevent this, the steamer was hauled as far as the comer of the dock entrance, and Li a very short time three engines ar- rived, and the lire was got under. The cargo fortunately escaped with little or 119 injury. The steamer had only arrived on the previous night, and her boilers were full of hot water, the steam front which rend red the work of playing with effect on those parts of the vessel which were on lire a work of extreme danger. The fire is said to have arisen from the heat of the funnel communicating to a beam, and it was time second fire which has happened on board the same vessel.

Mr. Andrew Edge, a very old gentleman, who was clerk to the Trea- surer of the Court of King's Bench for fifty years, died on Saturday last, in consequence of injury received front fire. On Christmas-night, he went to bed leaving his candle close to the bedclothes, which were 'OM set on tire ; and the tunes were not extinguished by his servant, anti' he had been dreadfully burnt.

On Tuesday, a distressing occident occurred to the son of Mr. H. Rashbrook, Alpha Cottages, Regent's Park. A bellhanger had bored hole through a post by the garden-door, for time purpose of inserting

the ; and the boy, who was within the garden and unobserved ay the workman, supposed be had finished, and applied his left eye to the hole. The workman at the same time again introduced his aterer for the purpose of clearing the hole, %Own the instrument entered the poor boy's eye.