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jkv<*. 9, 1851.] ttfp0 3t*airet*
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HORRIBLE MURDER. A deliberate and revolt...
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" WW^irz^^^^i^- a n.se are perfectl y le...
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
A Judge Insulted. Mr. Baron Platt Has Be...
to the court . They , however , by no means mended appearances , as they were not put in livery , and each man , with a regard only to his individual ' taste , or to the copiousness of his wardrobe , chose to appear in that dress which he thought most lit , and thus the two piraded before the carriage , one in a black suit and the other in colours , in most melancholy dingiuess , down Grey-street . "
Jkv<*. 9, 1851.] Ttfp0 3t*Airet*
jkv <* . 9 , 1851 . ] ttfp 0 3 t * airet *
749
Horrible Murder. A Deliberate And Revolt...
HORRIBLE MURDER . A deliberate and revolting murder ha 9 been perpetrated near Eye . The perpetrator of the atrocious deed is a farmer named John Mickleburgh , who occupies about fifty acres of land in his own right in the neighbourhood of Thraudeston , a scattered village and parish in the Hartismere Hundred , three miles and a half north-west of Eve . He is a married man and has three children , the eldest of whom , a girl , is fourteen years of age . The unhappy creature who perished was a single Woman named Mary Baker , who for two years and a half had been in the service I
of Micklenurgh , as a general domestic servant . Although he was married , and his wife and family lived with him under the same roof , it was evident that he h * d formed a strong attachment for the girl , and from his rep-esentations it would seem that an improper intimacy had existed between them . The girJ , however , was generally considered a well conducted person , and nothing was ever seen up to the period of the tragical affair that would tend to show
that she gave him any encouragement . On Thursday week , a large cattle-fair , with shows and booths , was held in the village , and Mary Baker obtained permission from her mistress to attend it , it being a general holiday among the domestics in that part of the country . She first visited her sister , a married woman named French , who , in the course of the afternoon , accompanied h < r to the fair . A young man named Boatman joined them , and was considered to be the deceased ' s sweetheart . Mickleburgh having learned where she had gone , also visited the fair i
He found her and followed her about , and seemed highly incensed at her talking with the young man Boatman . Wishing , however , to conceal his feeling from Boatman , he invited him with the deceased into a booth , kept by a person named Eastaugh , where he treated them to brandy and water and wine while there , the deceased ' s sister , Mrs . French , and her husband , with whom he was also acquainted , came xn , and he called for more wine to treat them . He solicited the young man Boatman to drink more freely than he did , apparently with a view of rendering him intoxicated and so obtaining posses- I sion of the Boatman
girl . , however , resisted his entreaties , and between six and seven o ' clock lett the booth in company with the deceased . Before quitting , Mickleburgh asked the deceased what tune her mistress expected her home . She replied , •« About half-past nine o ' clock ; " and after they had gone , Mrs . French followed them , leaving her husband drinking with Mickleburg h . Same time having dapsed , and French not coining home , his wife j returned to the booth , where she waited until they ? X u m - Mlt * leburgh then addressed her saying , iellftlary ( meaning the deceased ) to get home by nine o clock . I will be in the meadow ( alluding to one adjacent to his farm ) just before nine , as I want I
to see her . " Hi appeared much excited , and she understood that if the deceased girl did not meet him lie would be revenged . He parted with them and went in another direction of the fair , while Mis i'rench and her husband proceeded to a public-house ' Jcepr . by a man named B .-irrett , where the deceased and her sweetheart ( Boatman ) were regaling themselves Within a short time of Mickl . bur-h partinwith the trenches he went to the stall of a hawker in the fair and purchased a stiletto knife , with a blade some i , uror five inches in length and protected bv a spring back In the course of the next half-hour he vimteu the house where the deceased was There
Jf > Jing themselves , the company amounting to about < h y or hhv people . What followed wHl b , b S th w " TV" !""¦««* '• ••»« ^ 1 Vow ,, « taLient lu , lllU / hy * mn '^^ ue Hhortl y after she lu UNe . ved the fatal injury . She » , uu \ - » I was * s ii : n \ ' r'Ti T «« f wim - «» a { . « , . ! « huT << a V } bctn . « J « - | " «{ C co . np . my , and my eveni ! ,,, , * I-l' »«!»» - About eight o ' clock i .. the U ' ' ! master came in , oxcl . i . nii ., . < Ah Mary . . llll r , m Jim manner Nwxfiiwf . i . i .-... ir » i .. iw , 3 r r <> cxcl ? llllirm lle Mt M
*•»» £ « ia , iJ T \ - ' « " ><>•" ^ viil ,,,,, ' V U returned < m about U U two minutes , and si n 7 l '' T"I h ° ; " » wher » l w »» 1 \ f l hlX ( l l ° w Ilur klll'e out - wh .-n he s , iul . '" »» H * h ' i ' I " ° lt now ' ' Isaw tht - k »» f « I th » ii . no i 1 {( m , V U < ul waH Hiui » K by my « i < le all Uty »* 'H ' umt ,, i r V , ll | 1 Vt > V'thl " " " " imtil * ( "undl hl ' ««? ,, " i '" bo ( l - , »» ' ««» ily < l « clan > tin ™ , imH hllr R « i " M 'I . ' ? 1 " ' " »»< "'ween me and Mr . Mi . kleth (! <>«•<• .., r < M ,,. " ! ° I '' » " sum ! * '" t ! lt - r » oiii witnessed Jlot t » M ' Hli , r » ''\ . wllH '"^""' tly seized . He ofFered t'l »»«< m u f ? " . ' Ht : <' HIH ' nil < t > . » ' > r did ho evince the leant " < ltlmth . iaS , f
have given her four inchea more of it , and he hoped I he had finished her and she would die . The poor girl survived but a very few hours . The point of the stiletto had entered the cavity of the stomach to the extent of four or five inches , dividing all the vital parts . On Monday , John Mickleburgh underwent an examination at the Townhall , before the Reverend T . Lee French and a full bench of magistrates , on the charge of murder . He was wretchedl y dejected , and fainted during the course of the proceedings .
The principal witnesses examined were the young man William Boatman , Mr . and Mrs . French , and some other persons ; but the only additional fact that came out in their statements wa « , that Mickleburgh I went into oae of the outhouses after he had first entered the room of the publichouse and had seen Mary Baker , and deliberately opened the knife . As before observed , he returned to the apartment , and plunged it into the unfortunate girl . The shawl , gown , and stays which she wore at the time were produced , and they bore holes in them correspondingin size with the blade of the knife . I ^ William Sayer , a licensed hawker , proved selling the knife to Mickleburgh between six and seven o clock on the evening of the murder . He believed he was sober at the time .
[ Mr . Miller , surgeon of Eye , stated that he had made a post mortem examination of Mary Baker . He found a punctured wound about half an inch lon <> , and between four and five inches in depth , at the lower part of the the left side of the chest , between the eighth and ninth ribs . It passed into the spleen , and into the mesentery . It caused death . John Baker , a police-officer , stationed at Mendlesham . deposed that he was at the fair . About eight o clock in the evening he was informed that a young woman had been stabbed . Went to Barrett ' s i house , and found Mickleburg h seated by the side of John Fiench
. He told him that he was charged with stabbing Mary Baker , and took him into custody . Mickleburgh said , "You may take me and do what I you like with me . I have done what I intended to do , and I hope I have done it effectuall y ; had mv arm been a little stronger , I would have given her three or four inches more of it . I have always done what I liked with her since she has lived with me " John Baker believed he was tipsy at the time . When Sillett another officer , came up , Mickleburgh said , Ah ! Sillett , you may take me . " He repeated the wish about the strength of his arm , and said "I mean for revenge . " He stated that he went to a stall in the fair , and purchased the knife ; he gave 2 s . for it I He added , that he then went to Barrett ' s , and when he into the
got house Mary Baker said , "Ah . ' Master here ami ' Mickleburgh answered , "Ah , you shan ' t be long before you have this piece of steel . " He then went into the back-house and opened the knife When it was open it was like a dagger . He also said , ' tV i £ aVe "Ot kllIed her now ' h ° Pe 6 he will die If she dont come to my proposals , I have got the best brace of pistols the world can produce . " He added , that on the Wednesday night before his wife went to I Diss , Mary slept with him . Mickleburgh ' s wife came to s-ee him at the station-house about six o ' clock in the morning , lie said to her , "Now you know all about it ; if you had died a year or two a-o , this would not have occurred " Join , B . ker searched l £ n 7 aml found alarsoclaspknife . Mickleburg h replied , "That £ not the knife I did it with ; it was not large enough
I he evidence closing , the bench full y committed him for tr . al at the next a . sizes . The corono " ™ jury came to a similar determination , and returned » verdict of " Wilful Murder . " » Umntd u
" Ww^Irz^^^^I^- A N.Se Are Perfectl Y Le...
" WW ^ irz ^^^^ i ^ - a n . se are perfectl y legal . A trial of several wo k men for - conspiracy" to raise their wa-eT Tlrh " rook place on the 28 th ultimo , at StiiffordrSlu Jratea this unequal Htate of the law »« s » iruics
' ttufl l ' i ldlc V nCHt T ' 8 laid a K ainat a « ™ n named M w " rT ° ther workm « " »» tho employ of ton ' t , V . 7 e innnuf ^ t . m , r . at W < , lvor lamp . Justice Jbilo tried r ih cji «»> 'i'i . - ¦ Jri ' - £ R : H ^ H-EiS-fi i
I CI TV . ( j i-iwin *»» . •! .,. t <¦ .. £ . "J - »» ll . > , „ . _„ t { " — ' * —~> pciwona () v Mr aSSfri ^^ nmnner . IIe rt , Hed S . atT" " " '"'* ° ffl ! nHiv » oxistencoofany d F ™ - ™ V V ° awttro of lhft wrrenono wlmtevw ' U'Ul that ' ia f < lct » th « ra " U 0 WM Md hC WOuId » o « u know that . The Unplato
^ e = 1 rh aT ^^ forwarded to London where Je then " lanu { acto ^ « J left it behind . Rowland ,, who w 2 le seeUtar v to Jhe society of tinplate workers in WolverhS pS . a ? d he would send another book . They said th ey had larw funds at command , raised at different parte . and that they had power to array the operatives of the UnUed Kingdom against any master they chose . He felt a liule alarmed , and told them he would consider of it That terminated the meeting . From April to July " he had several meeting with the delegates Peel and Green , who appeared to be i inerating . " '
In the mean time , Mr . Perry had contrived to engage several workmen in his service by contracts and when he had achieved this , he suddenly told the delegates he would have nothing more to do with them . " He allowed no third parties to interfere in [ his business . " To this Peel courteously replied that he was •« exceedingly sorry , " but things must take their course . He soon felt the effects of that course . Before the 24 th of July several men , not under any engagement , left the manufactory . Then suspiciouslooking people were seen about the manufactory , peeping round one corner of the street and the other , and "it appeared as though spies were continually watching . " "He could never go out but he saw somebody watching . " The result
was , that between July and December about ! fifty men altogether left his employ . He was almost "brought to a stand still . " could not "keep his japanners going , " and lost between £ 2000 and £ 3000 . He had circulated a notice that men were wanted , and in opposition the men issued placards stating that Perry paid his men from twenty to thirty per cent , under other masters . Such were the allegations of Mr . Perry . Under cross-examination he admitted that in 1825 he had altered his book of prices , and it had been agreed to . He generally asserted that he did not pay less than other masters , and that he was not aware of any dissatisfaction . One portion of his statement is too important to
' omit ; — " Was at a meeting of masters in the month of April , and did not propose they should enter into a bond ; never did anything of the sort , and never intended . He called the meeting at th- Swan , and took the chair . It was for the purpose of talking with the other members of the trade . Six houses attended . Mr . Walton and Messrs Shoolbred were ihere . He stated no views . He did not make any proposition , nor did any one else . He never proposed to discharge certain men . He spoke of Dufheld . andMr . Walton said he was a very useful man
He said he was a rough fellow , and if he were in his ( Ferry s ) employ he would discharge him . He would swear he did not ask Mr . Walton to discharge him He did not say it would be a very good thing if the manufacturers could agree as to whom they ahould discharge He knew Duffield had been in the same employment twenty-five years ; Woodnortli had , he believed , so been for twenty-nine years , but he could not recollect the timejust now . Gaunt had been a good number of years 'lithe same employment , He claimed protection from the mayor for his men , himself , and his property "
A meeting of the men and their employer was called at the suggestion of the mayor , the delegates from the National Association were present , and allowed to speak by the mayor under protest from Mr . Perry ¦ At this meeting , Mr Perry vehementl y objected to the interference of the mayor , would not consent to the dispute being referred to the mayor and the two previous mayors , and behaved generally in a verv high-handed fashion . The meeting ended fruitlessly He urther explained that he had called the meeting at the bwan immediatel y on receipt of the letter before mentioned , from tho National Asao .-iation usim M m ( ?; S tht \ employers are represented as using the following phrase : —
Mr . Walton Raid he would not be dictated to Mr I earucombe Haul lie would not be dictated to . Mr I crry 8 brother said he would not be dictated to , and Mr | Perry would not be dictated to . " Several witnesses were examined to provo that secret meetings of workmen were called , at which HubscriptioriB were collected , and that men were sent » way to various parts of the kingdom and supplied Z « r . «\ ° Iie 3 ! V . UIlknown »*» ' <¦ ' »*" . S . » witness , h « v e they had been made drunk and spirited , iwiiy t listant parts of . lie country before they knew what they were < l « m (>„« wilI 1 ( ., on , ) Iu ; , o u th 1 nving been used to him , and that , threat was merely tlmt n would be worse ( or him if he did not Ko aW « y . In Humming up Mr . Justice Krle said : —
Nothing could be more clearly enUblislu'd than that | workmen were at liberty , wbil ,- fn . ( . from ni ^ .,, r ,. >» , (¦ lite r or not into employment , uh they pleased , " and Ji / uf a riKht to agree among lhems <> lv <\ s u , Hny , ' Wo will nut go into any employment unlcnti wo got , rerfuin wu ^ ch . ' Une workman , perfectly fre « from « -iigiiK « 'm «> iifH , iiiiglit H' « y , ' 1 will not go into employ uiiIchm I hnv <> n cvnnin rate of wii ^ h ; ' or all nuch woi ' kiiioii mi K "K < " « ' ' " , aa uhlt'hodit'd workmen , they would not t » ik <> employment unless tho employer g . iv <> u orrritin rat <; ; but it would bo most dangcrouH if « h » yw « -re to extend that doctrine to that which was olinrgfri in thi . i iiulictmnnt , or if they were to uuppotto that workmen who thought that a conuiu ruto ot wugva wua uot aullicicut hud , a right
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Aug. 9, 1851, page 9, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_09081851/page/9/
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