Frederick William Ralph, aged twenty-three, a stereotyper, and Charles Timms, aged twenty-two, an electroplater, were at Birmingham Assizes yesterday ordered by Mr. Justice Lawrence to receive twelve and ten strokes of the “cat” respectively. They were also sentenced to nine months’ and six months’ hard labour. The men had pleaded guilty to assaulting, while being armed with an offensive weapon, Mr. Henry Betts, a sixty-four-year-old crippled shopkeeper. Mr. Betts’ eyesight had been impaired in consequence of the injury he received. Mr. Justice Lawrence said that the men were brutes and cowards.