way met the deadly blow, it would then have been a case of culpable homicide only; but, considering the nature of the provocation; that the impulse which actuated the prisoner was not instantaneous; that he had time

Two surgeons concurred in stating, that the deceased's death was occasioned by the blow which he had received on the head.

After the prisoner's declaration was read, several witnesses were examined on his behalf, who all concurred in stating, that the deceased was of a quarrelsome disposition: that he had frequently struck the prisoner, without any blows being returned; and that they considered the prisoner to be a peaceable and quiet member of society.

Lord Justice Clerk, in summing up. the evidence, said, that he could not pretend to know what might be the verdict of the jury; but this he considered himself bound to say, that if they brought in a verdict of total acquittal, as had been called for by the Counsel for the prisoner, it would be a sorrowful acquittal for the people of this country. The case before them was either a case of murder, or of culpable homicide of the highest degree. It was only by a minute examination of all the circumstances attending it, that the nature of the crime could be properly ascertained, and it was to these alone the jury were called to look. [Here his lordship entered into a strict analysis of the evidence.] It was his duty, continued his lordship, to tell the jury, that by the law of this country the present was a case of murder. The provocation pleaded was not such as to justify the weapon that had been made use of. Had the prisoner struck with his fist, or had the deceased, in the scuffle, fallen back upon the furnace tongs, and in either

fatal weapon-the conduct that followed could only be attributed to revenge, to a foul intention to commit murder, As to the plea of self-defence, concluded his lordship, there was not the least ground for it, as it had been distinctly proved that, before the prisoner seized the tongs, the quarrel with him and his brother had ceased, and therefore, he had no occasion to fear any bodily harm-the only plea which could be urged with success in a case of this nature.

The jury returned a verdict of culpable homicide.

This day the Lord Chancellor and Mr Perceval had an interview with the King at Windsor. His Majesty, upon their entrance, delivered himself to the following effect: "I am glad to see you, my Lord Chancellor, and I am happy in saying, that I can see your features almost as well as ever I did. I cannot see Mr Perceval so distinctly; but I observe his back is to the window." Upon approaching the window, Mr Perceval turned, and a full light falling on his face, his Majesty is said to have added, "Aye, now I see Mr Perceval's features distinctly.'

quar

28th. On Monday last, an inquest was held at Benwell colliery, near Newcastle, on the body of James Heron, pitman, who was killed in rel by John Walton, on Saturday se'nnight.-The deceased and Waltonhad assembled along with other pit. men to be bound, and in the course of the afternoon they had been disputing about their work. Going home towards the evening, and still quarrelling, when they came to the door of

Walton's house, they had a scuffle, which lasted till they got into the house, and then Heron getting clear of Walton, snatched up the poker, and struck both him and his wife. Walton, enraged, asked his wife for his bayonet; but it not being in the way, she imprudently gave him a large knife, with which, in his passion, he stabbed Heron. The jury, after an investigation, which lasted from half past nine in the morning till half past seven at night, (10 hours) returned a verdict of wilful murder against John Walton, who is committed for trial.

On Friday forenoon, while a poor labouring man was assisting in taking down one of the old tenements in the Luckenbooths, Edinburgh, part of the building gave way, by which he was so much bruised, that, although medical assistance was instantly procu red, he died in twenty minutes after he was carried to the Royal Infirmary. He has left a widow, who is now preg. nant, and eight children, the eldest of whom is about twenty-two years of age, and is insane, and the family are in the most abject poverty. A subscription for their relief is set on foot. Bow-STREET.-On Friday evening a young female of very interesting appearance, and from the elegance of her manners, and style of dress, apparently of high rank and fashion, underwent a final examination on a charge of shoplifting. The circumstances of her de

tection were as follows:

On Tuesday afternoon, soon after 4 o'clock, when it was dusk, she went to the shop of Mr Geare, silk-mercer, in Hollywell-street, in the Strand, and purchased silk to the amount of sixteen shillings, in payment of which she tendered a one-pound Bank of England note. As the shopman was turning round to get change, he observed something move on the counter, which excited his suspicion; and giving her the change, he charged her with ha

ving taken something, but she denied it. So convinced, however, was he of the fact, that he insisted on her being searched, and for that purpose went to call the housekeeper. As he was going into the back room, he observed the young lady stoop down. He then got her up stairs into the dining-room, where the housekeeper searched her, and reported to the shopman, that she could not find any thing upon her, except the silk she had purchased. He, however, persisted that she must have something which she had stolen upon her. The housekeeper proceeded, in consequence, to search her under her clothes, and found a roll of silk. On this discovery she burst into tears, fell on her knees, and entreated for mercy. A messenger was dispatched to Bowstreet for an officer. Humphreys arrived in a short time, and proceeded to search her again, and found in her bosom a 21. and a 11. bank note; but nothing of a suspicious nature. She entreated forgiveness in the most pathetic and distressing language, assuring them it was her first offence, and that she was of a respectable family; the prosecutor, however, told her she was in the custody of an officer, and she must go before a magistrate. A most affecting scene then took place: she fainted, and fell on the floor. Humphreys could not move her till he threatened to carry her out. He conveyed her to the office in a coach. On her examination, she said her name was Willes, and that she lived in a court in Holborn. Humphreys enquired there for her, but was informed no such person lived there.

At her examination, on Friday, Mr Nares reprobated her conduct, in giving a false name and residence: when she acknowledged the charges in a flood of tears, and said she had done so to avoid the exposure of her family and herself. There being nothing, however, to bring the charge home but

3

her own confession, she was discharged.

PRICE OF FLOUR.-On Friday a great number of country bakers, resident within the bills of mortality, were summoned before the Lord Mayor, some for neglecting to make their weekly returns at the Cocket Office, and others for making false returns when they came to shew their mealman's bills of parcels for the flour they had bought. Many of them had returned five shillings a sack more than they had paid, or meant to pay. His lordship explained to them, that the act of parliament empowered him to inflict a fine of 201. upon every baker who was found guilty of making false returns. Some pleaded poverty, and ignorance of the act of parliament; and others, that they had sent their weekly returns without knowing what they were to pay. Several of them were

fined 10 s. and the expences.

It deserves to be generally known, that by two acts of parliament, of 1808 and 1810, every baker and seller of bread, in town or country, is required to have scales fixed in his shop, and proper weights of the assize weight of the different loaves in general use, (viz. quartern and half-quartern, in London and within ten miles; and half peck, quartern, half-quartern, eighteenpenny, one shilling, sixpenny, and threepenny, beyond ten miles from London; and any person buying a

loaf

may require to see it weighed in his presence, and if found deficient, have another loaf, or the deficiency made up with other bread. And in case the baker, or bread seller, does not comply with these particulars, he forfeits 10s. or less, as a magistrate may think fit. The proper weight of the different sized loaves may be known by the assize papers put up publicly in bakers' shops in general.

29th.- -COURT OF REQUESTS. Brown v. Smidtz.--Chemical Pro

cess.-The plaintiff, in this case, a vender of milk, sought to recover from the defendant, a professor of chemist ry, 11. 16s., the amount of a milk score. The defendant offered to pay one half of the sum demanded into court, but refused to pay any more on the following grounds

He said, that having remarked the fluid purchased of the plaintiff, for some time past, had assumed more of the sky-blue than of the milk-white in its hue, and that it was much thinner than that nutritious aliment called milk ought in its nature to be, he felt a little curious to solve this unusual appearance, and, in order to do so, he determined to analyse a small quantity of it, by way of experiment; he accordingly took a pint of it, smoking from the plaintiff's pail, and retired with it to his laboratory, where, by the result of a nice chemical process, he ascertained to the greatest accuracy, that fiveeighths of the fluid he had received as milk was simple water, one eighth chalk, and two eighths pure milk. He thought, therefore, in offering to pay the plaintiff half his demand, he satisfied all the justice of the case.

The commissioner enquired of the defendant, 1st, If he could prove that the plaintiff himself had diluted the milk to that extent, or that he was aware such a quantity of water had been put into it? And 2dly, Whether the plaintiff's milk was worse in quality than the milk usually sold in this metropolis at the same price?

The defendant said, he was not prepared to prove either of these points.

The plaintiff offered to swear he had only diluted the milk with one-third water, which, he said, he was authorised to do by a certain act of parliament, and, on his conscience, he believed his milk was richer than that sold by nine out of ten of his fellow milksellers.

Under these circumstances, the court

ordered the defendant to pay the full amount of the plaintiff's demand, together with full costs of suit.

The Royal Navy Asylum, at Greenwich, under the patronage of government, is now nearly finished, and has a very elegant appearance when viewed from Greenwich Hospital. It is at present calculated to contain 1000 children, but it is proposed to extend the establishment to 2000.

30th.-A fatal pugilistic contest took place on Wednesday se'nnight, at Rollestone, near Burton-upon-Trent, in the county of Stafford. On the preceding evening, Charles Beale, a farmer, from Stretton, and Stringer Tonks, a basket-maker, of Repton, having quarrelled, agreed to meet the next day at Rollestone, to decide their dispute. The constable of the parish was present as stake-holder. The combatants fought with a determination and courage seldom witnessed, until the 31st round, when Tonks struck Beale a dreadful blow under the ear, and death terminated the fight.

31st.-QUALIFICATION OF THE REGENT.-On Saturday it was communicated at the Lord Chamberlain's office, and to those who have the management of the Chapel Royal, that it was the intention of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to receive the sacrament yesterday at the Chapel Royal, St James's, agreeably to the directions of the bill, to qualify him to take upon himself the office of Regent. It was signified that it was his Royal Highness's wish to be received in as private a manner as possible; however, it was thought some preparation was necessary, and a number of workmen were employed to affix a crimson velvet canopy at the left side of the altar, which was always prepared when their Majesties were in the habit of attending at that chapel to receive the sacra

ment.

About twelve o'clock, his Royal

Highness, accompanied by Lords Moira, Dundas, and Keith, arrived in the Palace-yard of St James's in his carriage. The guard of the day was drawn out, with the colours flying, and the drums and fifes playing. The Prince was received with the same honours as his Majesty would have been. His Royal Highness proceeded up the grand staircase, and entered the royal closet. He took his seat in the front of the right side, when the service of the day commenced, which was read by the Rev. Mr Pridden, as was the litany by the Rev. Mr Hayes. On the Bishop of London (the dean of the chapel,) and the Rev. Mr Holmes (the sub-dean) entering the altar to read the communion service, they turned to the royal closet, and made obeisance to the Prince, in the same manner that they would have done if the King had been there. The sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr Madley, from the 4th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and 12th verse :-"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

After which the anthem of "God is our hope and strength," was sung. At the conclusion of the anthem, the organist struck up a solemn voluntary on the organ; and at a quarter past two o'clock his Royal Highness descended from the royal closet, followed by the above three noble lords up the aisle of the chapel; his Royal High

ness took his seat under the canopy, and the three lords took their seats on the opposite side of the altar. The dean, after taking the sacrament himself, administered it to his Royal Highness, to the three noble lords, and Mr Madley, who had preached. At the conclusion of the service, the dean bowed to his Royal Highness, who then left the altar; and when he got into the aisle, he turned and bowed to

the dean and sub-dean, as did the noble lords. On his Royal Highness's leaving the chapel to get into his carriage, he was received with the same military honours as when he entered; and the yard was nearly filled with spectators, who greeted his Royal Highness with acclamations, and cheered him with huzzas as he left it.

On Monday morning, as the captain of a Dutch vessel, which had been wrecked on her passage from Ostend, was enquiring his way in Westminster for the Alien office, he unfortunately enquired of some sharpers, who informed him he was too early to obtain a passport, the office not being open; and prevailed on him to go with them into a public house in Charles street, where they were joined, as usual, by another of their gang; and contrived by play, and borrowing money, to defraud him of 351.

On Tuesday, four women and two men, concerned in the robbery of Mr Read, the jeweller, in Jermyn-street, underwent an examination before Mr Colquhoun, at Queen-square office, when it appeared in evidence, that a search warrant had been obtained against a house kept by a man near St Ann's Church, which had the appearance of a pastry-cook's shop, where it was suspected some of Mr Read's jewellery-goods had been sold. On searching, about a hundred pairs of stays were found, also quantities of jean and calico; but none of the articles stolen from Mr. Read's shop. There was very little appearance of the regular trade of a pastry-cook being carried on, but there were strong suspicions of its being used as a receptacle for stolen property. The master of the house stated the stays and other goods to be the property of a bankrupt; with which statement the officers executing the warrant were satisfied, and did not take the man into custody. In a short time after they left the house, they

ascertained that the stays and other property had been stolen from a shop in Cranbourn-alley, which had been broken open a short time since; they in consequence returned to the house, when they found the occupier had absconded: they, however, seized the stays, &c., and they have since been identified as the same stolen from the shop in Cranbourn-alley. A relative of the pretended pastry cook has since applied to the stay-maker, offering him a sum of money not to appear against his relative, for which he has been held to bail.

On Friday last, a servant girl of Lieut. Col. Kent's, at the army depot, Isle of Wight, poisoned herself by ta king arsenic. It appeared in evidence she was five months with child, and it is thought she only meant to destroy the child. She told the surgeon who attended her she took it on purpose to destroy herself. The jury, after a few minutes consideration, returned a ver dict of felo-de-se, and she was buried in the high-road near the barracks.

A family, consisting of an elderly woman, two smart young females, and a servant, who lately occupied a house at Richmond-place, Brighton, has suddenly disappeared, leaving all their bills with between twenty and thirty tradespeople (some of which are to a considerable amount) undischarged. They went by the name of Hill.

The following ludicrous circum. stance occurred on Tuesday week at Bristol:-A couple of Jews being apprehended in the act of stealing several articles from the stable of the White Hart Inn, were hauled into the yard by two stout fellows, whither the whole fraternity of the currycomb were immediately summoned. The long beards of these disciples were then stuck together with pitch (their hands being previously tied behind them ;) and while thus face to face, a profusion of snuff, mixed with hellebore, was admi