Orp Battax.—The May Sessions commenced on Thursday, with a calendar
of 2W prisoners, of whom 122 are charged with petty larcenies, 39;stealing from the person, 3 murder, 5 burglary, 4 uttering counterfeit coin, 11 house-breaking, 4 highway robbery, 1 stealing a letter from the Post-Office, 2 horse-stealing, 1 removing stamps from used parchments, 9 stealing from dwelling-houses above 5/. value, 2 nameless offence, 1i embezzlement, 2 receiving stolen goods, 1 threatening for the purpose of extorting money, 2 tittering forged orders, for delivery of goods, 1 manslaughter, 1 fraud. The Judges are Littledale, Bosanquet, and Vaughan.
.111u UDE R. IN BEDFORDBURV. — The trial of Thomas Gallagher and the Norms for the murder of the man Dockery took place at the Old Bailey yesterday. The only novelty in the case was the defence of Ann Moran, which was long and rambling, but of which the following is an abstract. She said that the deceased was her lodger, and that, at six o'clock on the morning in question, he came home, accompanied by two women. She was angry with him for doing so, and remonstrated about its impropriety ; but he told her, that as long as he paid her her rent he had a right to bring home whom he pleased. He then insisted on her sending for some gin, when she told him the publichouses were not open ; but after some time Thomas Gallagher offered to try to get it, and went out to procure it. He was gone a very long time, when the deceased with an oath exclaimed, " If he does not bring the gin, he shall be sorry for it." He, the deceased, went away before Gallagher returned. He, however, soon came back, and immediately began to quarrel, and struck Gallagher a blow, which, said the prisoner, " Tom of course returned, and a regular light took place." She concluded her statement by de- scribing the dreadful shock her feelings had sustained ; for said she, "God bless your Lordships, the poor things had lived together like bro- thers. When these policemen came in, I know I ran away and called murder ; for, your Lordships, I hate the sight of a policeman as I hate the sight of a thief:" The Jury found Gallagher guilty of manslaughter, and acquitted the rest. Gallagher was instantly called up, and sentenced to banishment for life. He fainted on receiving sentence, and was obliged to be carried out of court.
IKEY SOLOMONS.—This worthy was brought np yesterday at the Old Bailey ; when Mr. Justice Littledale addressed him to the following effect. "Isaac Summons, you were convicted in July last year, before Mr. Sergeant Arabi'', of feloniously receiving fourteen watch-movements which had been stolen from Messrs. M'Cabe and Strachan. On your trial your counsel objected that the offence of which you had been guilty was not in law a felony but a misdemeanour ; and the learned Judge who tried you reserved that point ; siece which, the Judges have most carefully and anxiously considered the matter, and after that mature consideration a majority of their Lordships are of opinion that the conviction is right, and it is therefore confirmed." Solomons was about leaving the bar, when the Recorder ordered him to be called up for judgment, and im- mediately sentenced him to fimrteen years' transportation. So 'key must e'en trudge to his old quarters again. They might as well have let him stay when he was there. HOUSEBREAKERS —About one o'clock, on Wednesday morning, the family of Mr. Armistead, of Prospect Place, Kennington, were awakened by a noise in the lower part of the house, as if some person was boring the back door. Mr. Armistead immediately opened his bedroom-window, and sprung a large rattle ; when Mott, Higgins, Cooksey, aud Sergeant Hammond, belonging to the L division of police, who were on duty ia Kennington Lane, hastened to the spot, and surrounded the house. One fellow was caught in the act of running away ; and on searching him, a centre-bit and several skeleton-keys were found on his person. Another endeavoured to escape over the back-yard-wall, but was finally captured, and anumber of housebreaking implements were also found on his person. One of the constables, on bringing up the prisoners at Queen Square next day, produced a quantity of skeleton-keys, several centre-bits, chisels, a crow-bar, a dark lantern, and a phosphorus-box, found upon the prisoners. The back-door of Mr. Armistead's had about fifteen holes bored in the panel by a centre bit. The thieves had gained an entrance into an empty house adjoining the back-yard, by which means they had been enabled to get at Mr. Armistead's back kitchendoor. Another constable pro- duced an immense bludgeon, loaded with lead, which he found upon one of the-priseners, a man named Payne. Mr. White committed both for three months to the House of Correction, to be kept to hard labour. During the greater part of the day, a number of well-knowthhousebreakers were waiting outside, and about the neighbourhood, anxious to hear what was done to their desperate companions. [A pretty account of our preventive system.]
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