BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES.
HERE are two places well worth seeing in London. One is the Central Criminal Court or "Old Bailey" as it is usually called, situated next door to Newgate, and the "Lord Mayor's" Court, in the Mansion House.
The Old Bailey is a famous criminal Court, and has had an eventful history. The magistrates who sit here, are the Lord Mayor, who opens the Court, the sheriffs of Middlesex and London, the Lord Chancellor, who is never present excepting in a State trial, the Judges, Aldermen, and Recorder, the Common Sergeant of London, the Judge of the Sheriff's Court, or City Commissions, and others whom the Crown may appoint to assist them. Of these dignitaries the Recorder and Common Sergeant of London are most generally to be found presiding, as the common law judges only assist when knotty points are to be decided, or when conviction may affect the life of the prisoner.
At the Old Bailey are tried crimes of every kind, from treason to petty larceny, and even offences committed upon the high seas. The jurisdiction comprises every part of the metropolis of London, together with the county of Middlesex; the parishes of Richmond and Mortlake in Surrey, and the greater part of Essex county, adjoining Middlesex.