On this page
-
Text (3)
-
£96 * fH,B LEADER. [No. 418, March 2^ 18...
-
Execution at Swansea.—The two Greek sail...
-
GATHERINGS FROM THE LAW AND POLICE COURT...
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.
-
-
Transcript
-
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.
The Assizes. William Baldwin- Has Been T...
knife . A little boy was outside the house at the time the death-r struggle was going ° on , and he saw Davies hastily leave the cottage and lock the door after him , leaving the key in . He gave an alarm , and the dead body was afterwards discovered by the neighbours . The murderer was taken into custody at two o ' clock next morning , in a barn at Leebotwood , about twenty miles off . The policeman charged him with the murder of Nancy Morgan , and he asked , "Is she dead ? " and , on being answered in the affirmative , he said , " Oh , Lord ! I did not think it was quite so bad as that . " He was then brought to Wenlock in a cart , and , on the way , he said he had told the old woman he would leave her , and went up-stairs to fetch his clothes . The old woman followed him , and he asked her for the watch she had
bought for him , and several times requested her to kiss him . He added that , if he had killed her , it was not for money , for he knew where it was , and there was but 6 d . in the house , and he knew -where the bank books ¦ w ere ; and he observed , " I did love the old woman . " The defence at the trial was an endeavour to reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter ; but it failed , and Davies was found Guilty of the former , and was sentenced to death . —During the examination of the little boy who was the chief witness against Davies , his mother appeared to be labouring under some great mental anxiety , and would not be prevailed on to quit the witness-box . It seems that she was under the belief that the dead ' witch' still possessed an evil power over her .
Another case involving the belief in witchcraft was tried at Liverpool on Monday . Martin Devitt , an Irish workman , was indicted for bigamy . The facts were clearly proved ; but he cross-examined the second wife in a very wild way , and at length worked himself into a state of the greatest excitement . " Answer me this , " he shrieked out . " "Would you ever let me alone till I married you ? Didn ' t you " get two candles , and burn ' em all night to bewitch me , and give me some powders to charm , me ? Answer me that , now . " The woman answered "No ; " on which , Devitt , gesticulating violently , exclaimed , " What ! Turn round , and let me look at you . " The woman , however , obstinately kept her back towards the prisoner . Devitt then resumed his ravings , and at last became perfectly unintelligible . He -was found Guilty , and sentenced to three months ' hard labour .
William Charles Browne , an engineer , has been found Guilty , at Shrewsbury , of forging an endorsement to a bill of exchange for 196 / . 16 s ., with intent to defraud the members of the Old Bank at Shrewsbury , on the 30 th of last December . He was sentenced to eight years' penal servitude . A man named "William Bennett has been tried at Warwick on a charge of having feloniously uttered a note purporting to be a 10 Z . Bank of England note , but which was forged . A large amount of evidence was given , showing that Bennett had on several other occasions passed forged notes ; and there was an unusual agreement between all the witnessess as to the
appearance of the man , and as to the clothes he wore . Strong 09 the prosecution was , however , the defence was almost equally strong . An alibi was set up , and a great number of witnesses , apparently of entire respectability , supported it . Mr . Justice Coleridge , in leaving the case to the jury , told them that the contradictions involved in the evidence given for the prosecution and defence did not necessarily cast on all the witnesses on either side the imputation of wilful perjury . A mistake respecting the days in question might account for the apparent inconsistency . The jury , after a few minutes ' consideration , returned a verdict of Guilty . Bennett was sentenced to ten years' penal servitude .
Four men have been tried at Shrewsbury for the murder of George Norton , a gamekeeper . An encounter took place , on the 5 th of last December , at Holy well Cover , Child's Ercal , between sixteen gamekeepers , armed with heavy flails , and accompanied by savage dogs , and some forty poachers , who carried sticks and guns . The four accused were of the party , and a pitched battle ensued , during which tho dogs were set at the poachers and several shots were iired at the gamekeepers . One of tho gamekeepers was hit by a shot , and another ( Norton ) received a wound in the abdomen from a dog spear , of which . no died next morning . Mr . Baron Watson said ho did not think there was any case as regarded tho homicido against two of
tho men ; but they afterwards pleaded Guilty to a charge of night poaching , and were sentenced to eight years ' penal servitude . Tho otlier two were found Guilty of manslaughter , and condemned to penal servitude for fourteen years . Charlee Rooke , a tradesman of Lewes , has been trlod —atthat-to- \ vn-on-a-chargo-o ) f-, throw ; ing-a . BtQne ~ fttJ \_ tnuH on the Brighton and South Coast Ruilway . Tho charge arose out of tho disturbances which occurred lust November at tho Amoral of a Roman Catholic convert . The Rev . Mr . Neale , a Papistical clergyman , made himself obnoxious on that occasion to tho townsfolk , « nd tho stone appears to have been afrnply thrown at him as he sat in one of tho railway carriages . Under these circumstances , Rooko was Acquitted . An unusually painful trial for child murder took place at Bury St . Edmund ' s on Monday . Kmma Groom , a
young woman twenty- , was illegitimate children—one a girl , about five years of age , the other a boy under two . In November , 1856 , she was in service with Mrs . Johnson , of Bramford , who wag aware of the existence of the children , and allowed the mother to visit them . The little girl was kept by its grandmother , though Emma Groom occasionally sent remittances of money ; the little boy was placed with a Mrs . Lay , who agreed , though at some loss to her » elf , to take care of him for two shillings a week . The mother always appeared very fond of her offspring , and Mrs . Lay and Mrs . Johnson also conceived a great affection for the little boy . On the 31 st of July , the mother took the child with her to a fair ; but she
returned late at night to her mother ' s house without him . She knocked her mother up out of bed , and appeared faint and sad , but asked affectionately after her daughter , arul then went up-stairs to bed . Early on the following morning , the little boy was discovered dead and nearly naked , in a pond near Oakley . Emma Groom was immediately suspected , and , on being spoken to , exhibited great distress and embarrassment ; and subsequently she acknowledged the child to be hers . A parcel which she had brought to her mother's house overnight , and which she had told her mother not to meddle , was found to contain the dead child ' s clothes . Two surgeons , who examined the body , and gave evidence at the trial , said that the symptoms were those of suffocation , but not necessarily that of drowning , while many of them were more consistent with the supposition that life might have been gradually extinguished by the accidental suffocation of the child while being kept
closely wrapped up in its mother ' s arms and cloak . One of the medical gentlemen also admitted that , though he adhered to his opinion that death had been caused by immersion in the water , yet , a 3 a medical fact , it was always difficult to speak positively , and it might be that " the child , having been accidentally suffocated or smothered , had afterwards been thrown into the water . Mr . Mills made an . eloquent speech for the defence , and both he and Lord Chief Justice Cockburn were greatly affected . The'jury , however , found a verdict of Guilty , accompanied by a strong recommendation to mercy . The judge then pronounced sentence of death , Avhich was listened to by the wretched woman with cries and shrieks . She was with difficulty removed from the dock . —Surely this is a case for a commutation of punishment ; and indeed many will think that the doubts elicited during the trial were so strong that the prisoner ought to have had the benefit of them .
William Nattle has been tried at Bodmia for the wilful murder of his mother . The evidence was very doubtful and unsatisfactory ; but it showed that the mother and son did not live on good terms , and that the latter was very violent when intoxicated , which was not unfrequently . The mother died of apoplexy , but there were marks of violence on her head , which tho prosecution suggested were inflicted by the accused with an iron instrument . The jury , however , after endeavouring to bring in a verdict of manslaughter , which the judge told them they could not do , Acquitted the accused .
£96 * Fh,B Leader. [No. 418, March 2^ 18...
£ 96 * fH , B LEADER . [ No . 418 , March 2 ^ 1858 . — . _ »_ _ ^ _ .. a Ua MAtknti rvP fitrA of four the mother of two
Execution At Swansea.—The Two Greek Sail...
Execution at Swansea . —The two Greek sailors , recently found guilty of murdering a fellow sailor at Swansea , were hung last Snturday morning in front of the town gaol . They died with firmness and decorum , and were attended by a priest of their own religion . A crowd of some twenty thousand persons—many of whom arrived from the outlying districts—assembled to witness Calcraft perform his horrible office . MuituEit in Somersetshire . ' —An old man named Tliomas Pritchard , a shoemaker , residing at Middlezoy , near Bridgewater , has been murdered by his wife , who is supposed to be insane . He had been married many years , and had several children , one of whom , a daughter , resided with them . On Wednesday , the 10 th inst ., tho daughter left her father , who was very infirm and used
two 8 ticks as crutches , sitting in the chimney corner . Subsequently , Mrs . Pritchard went several times to the house of a neighbour named Attwcll , and on the lust occasion she requested a woman who was present to go with her to her own dwelling . She looked wild , and her hands were covered with blood . The woman being alarmed refused to go , but one of Attwoll ' s daughters , accompanied by her brother , wont to the house , and on crossing the threshold the old man was found lying on his back , insensible , and dreadfully beaten about tho face . lie lingered till Saturday night , and recovered sufficiently to etate that his wife had suddenly attacked him with the crutch-sticks , knocked him down , and poured boiling water over him . The woman has been since confined to her bed by illness .
This Manslaucuiticu of a Tradesman . —William and ^ n ; ry ^ lHjt $ ! Ulflg &^ Worship-street with killing a tradesman namotTSawyor , as already related in this paper , have been committed for trial . Caiturk of TivnahMta . —Two thieves have been captured in tho house of Mr . S / ingstor , an infirm old gentleman of largo property , living in Cranmer-rond , Ltrlxton . Tho oircumatuncos were rather singular . Owing to information which had been given him , Mr . Inspector Kinmorson stationed a sergeant nnd a constable in one of the iowcr rooma of tho houuo on
Sun-Hair flVAnintf w till a lie * tiiinanlf ni > Anni >/ 1 nJ * . _ ¦ »¦» — day evening , while he himself proceeded to Mr Sansster ' s bedroom . At seven o ' clock , the servant went tn church , and , in about half an hour , the back kitch window was forced , after two knocks had been giyfj ! without being answered , and two men entered the hou « and went up-stairs . Approaching the bedroom door one said to the other , " All the places are open—that ' s a good job ; " and they then entered , one of them carrying a lighted candle . On seeing the inspector , they extin . guisbed this ; but Mr . Einmerson endeavoured to secure both . One , however , escaped from his grasp , and raised
a chisel in a menacing posture . The inspector had by this time turned on his ' bull ' s-eye , ' and , on his drawing his staff , the ruffian ran down stairs , and was secured by the constables , though not Avithouta resistance in which one of the constables was cut about the hand . While this was going forward , Mr . Sangster remained in his own room in a state of great excitement and fear . An attempt had been made on the house on the previous Sunday night . The two burglars were on Monday examined at the Lambeth police-office , and committed for trial .
The Supposed Murder in Norfolk . —The seventh and last sitting has been held on the bones discovered at Middleton , near Lynn , Norfolk , in December , and supposed to be those of a Mr . Bell , who disappeared in a mysterious manner in November , 1849 . An open verdict has brought to a close an inquest which has been prolonged between three and four months . A Domestic Tragedy . —A horrible event has taken place at Islington—¦ the scene of a good many recent calamities . A . working man named Osborne had a lodging at 15 , Pembroke-street ; but , as his work was at Bow , he slept there during the week , returning home on Saturday night and going back on Monday morning . His wife , in the meanwhile , lived at the Islington house ; and , after a time , Osborne conceived that she had been unfaithful to him with one of the lodgers . A good many quarrels resulted ; and on Sunday there were very high
words . The woman admited her infidelity , and tauntingly said that , she preferred her paramour to her husband , and that she would go and live with the former . On this , Osborne Cwho seems to have been drinking ) seized a billhook , and threatened his wife . A Mrs . East , a lodger who was present , interposed ; but Osborne flung her to the floor , saying , " It ' s nothing to you . " East then saw him seize his wife by the hair , and strike her on the head with the billhook . The horrified witness ran to the door , and called for assistance ; and , in the meanwhile , Osborne cut his own throat , and died almost immediately . The wife , though frightfully mangled about the head and hands , appears likely to recover . At the inquest , which was held on Wednesday , Osborne ' s mother said that her sou had been liable to fits of insanity ever since his youth ; and the jury returned a verdict to the effect that he committed suicide while in a state of mental aberration .
Gatherings From The Law And Police Court...
GATHERINGS FROM THE LAW AND POLICE COURTS . An action of ejectment , in order to recover possession of a farm called Cage Farm and other property at Tunbridge , was tried at the Maidstone Assizes last Saturday . The plaintiff was Susannah Johnstonc , widow of the late Earl of Annandale , and the defendant is a young gentleman who has lately come into the property in question on the death of his father . Frances Allchin was the owner of this farm , and had power to dispose of it by will ; but in tho year 1817 she became insane , am in the following year a . commission of lunacy was issued against her , and she was placed in a lunatic asylum at Ticehurat , in Sussex , k « pt by a gentleman named Newington . She remained in this state of mind until 18-2 » , when she recovered her intellect , and became thoroughly
competent to manage her affairs and dispose of her property . From this time to her death , however , woicu took place in the year 1840 , she continued to reside > n Mr , NewinRton ' a asylum , no t as a patient , but as an inmate of his family , lior reason for this stop being tut she had no frienda with whom she wished to live , anu had always experienced tho greatest kindness nnd anection from Mr . Newington ' s family . In 1830 , an application was made to the then Lord Chancellor ( Low Brougham ) to supersede tho commission of lunacy , anu an examination as to the state of mind of the testatrix waa made by Dr . Mayo ( tho physician to the estabiw" - mont ) and Dr . Yates , both gentlemen of groat experionco certiucato ui »
in oaaea of lunacy , and they then gave n tho lady was of perfectly sano mind . The npp watwn to tho Court was postponed from that time till tno j eui 1852 , when it was renewed ; and upon the testimony v tho two before-mentioned medical mon , after an hh vio ^\ rwhlclt-the--lttdy'had-witU ^ X 9 rd ^ toJi 6 hanj ^ ''' commission was superseded . Mlas Allohin ' » 'u' ° " w "' in 181 M , by which she gave the property ui q « c « «" the father of tho present tlefendunt , eub i u l ° annuity of 100 ? . a yci » r , to bo paid to her "M " " *''"? who was then confined In a lunatic obI » W « l mew . Previously to the commission being fliinenwdofl , u after bIio had . , recovered her intellect , tho testatrix »» made two other wills , by both of which she gnvo v « property to tho defendant ' s family , for whom sho inw
-
-
Citation
-
Leader (1850-1860), March 27, 1858, page 8, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_27031858/page/8/
-