"Accidents and offences" make a more than usually con- spicuous
figure in the black list of the week—the accidents furnish the lighter catalogue, and the most remarkable incident of this kind is the fire at the London Docks, which, as will be seen from our report, resembled a battle in a small way and illustrated anew the character of our countrymen for daring and endurance. The list of offences is crowded with details of crimes some of which are so dark and foul that we dare not present them to our readers. Recklessness in taking life for slight and imaginary causes is but too prominent a feature in the records of the Assizes. In many cases counsel have most unwarrantably adopted the practice of putting in a plea of insanity for an in- defensible client ; but the Juries have had the good sense to dis- regard these dexterous subtleties and to bring in verdicts in accordance with the evidence.
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