Star. — London, England, 1813-09-02 00:00:00

List-Atm Yesterday *is field tax. !Adis House, specially summoned at the requisition of more than forty Proprietors. . • The dsual forms hating Been giff* throusit; Mr. Perim Mooch stated, that this *as the pfoper time to follow Up the Resolutidtis of the last Court, by subMitting -certain propositions, which ; frodi MO. lives of delicacy; he had not imparted 'to the Execu tive Body. He adverted to a prior Vote of Thanks, given generglly.to the Directors, and was extremely desirous of giving noW something mote Solid than thanks, to a body of men who had so uniformly acid to ably conducted themselves, for the benefit of the Proprietors and the nation at large. He also thought something was due to the Proprietors *ith rest:Ott to the payment of the Property-tax—a proposition which , Government had negatiVed on a former applications" lie trusted, however, that his resent proposition would trial with better success.—. The principle he Should adopt, would be founded on those reasdirs . Whickis. duced Parliament to intrease the . alloviatics- to 4he Board of Controul ; which now received yearltae96,ooo.! an allowance which, considering the arduous' dutiep t • to lie.perfarmed, might be considered as moderate. This principle might faitly.be applied to thr.:Court of Directors; but he should confine himself, - .in the: • first insunce, to the payment of the Propertri l ax oti the dividends ; Which in the present state of the stock did not realiie iota fide five per cent: If he were asked how the funds for the payment were procur able! he 'should simply. refer to the territorial rein rues The Honourable Proprietor then reildhls Moat Boni viz. • . . rbat this Court having duly considered the conditions emeed bal by the Legislature in the recent renewal of the Charter of the Eastsindia Conmany, and deeply impressed with the corn- Cnerdal advantages, the grhat and constant Maul of wealth, and vwit political importance derived by the nation at large from 'the possessions of the East-India Company; and justly considering these cirturnstancts, especially under the concessions now gran tkil to the whole British Comtnercial World, by the Regulations .hove referred to, ate decidedly of opinion, that the Company possesses the strongest possible claim on the justice and erititude Of their country; and, under thus impression, that the compen satiob allowed them for the employment Of their capital, by which all these advantages have been obtained, and are preser ved, should at least be free from any diminution of its mdderate amount, this Court do most earnestly fecommend it to the Court Of Directors, again to spiky to his Majesty's Ministers, And to the Board thiCommissioners for the Affairs of India, to give their sanctibn to such Measures as shall be competent to authorize the Property on the Dividends on the Capital Stock to be Char ged on those territaial revenues which the said Capital Stock has exclusively acquired, and to defray the amount as an ordinary outgoing of the Company." The Resolution having been read by the Clerk, PLuststr.u, In a `►cry able addteis, seconded the Motion. • Mr. DIXON thought nine-tenths of the preeeding speech had nothing to do with the subject. Instead of a pretty speech, be should have been much better pleased to have heard where was the surplus cash to pay the Property Tax: Solomon had wisely said, 44 there was a time for all things I" but,he must in• deed be a Sotomott who should be hardy enough to assert that this was the proper period fora measure of so extraordinary a natures The boon demanded lad already been refused, and little prospect was there ofits now succeeding. The conduct of die'pre •ent Directors deserved every_ praise ; but was it cer tain fibre Direetors might be equally praisesedtthy? He should like to hear the individual sentiments of the Pirectors, and *idled the motion might be with• drawn, rather than negatived. , ) The CHAIRMAN (Mr. R. Thornton) disclaitned all knowledge of the motions. He knew nothing further - ofthem than what rumour had reported. Mr. LUSHINGTON I Chairman of the Committee -for Ways and Means, supported the Mover and Secon der, who deserved rather praise than censure for not having communicated their intention to the Execu tive Body ; not that he approved of their unsports , .nlike conduct in convening a Court on the Ist of September. tie then expatiated on the propriety as. welt as Merits of the proposition, and dwelt with con siderable force on the paltry remuneration• at present given to the Directors. The Rev. Mr. I'HIRLIVALL observed, thit the hues= tion of remuneration to the Directors was not then before the Court. • Mr. LOWNDES expressed his wish, that if what he I should say•found its way into the Public Papers, it would be given correctly, or that it would be made better, instead of worse. He had been charged on a former occasion with saying, li that if the East-India Charter went into a ComMittee, by God, it was gone to the devil !" He hoped that no More absurdities would be attributed to him than what he should really utter. The Hon. Mover of the Resolution was accu sed by another Hon. Gentleman of not being a sports man t he himself thought he was a sports Man, but in a different field—the field of corruption I He (Mr. Peter Moore) came there " To shoot corruption as it Me% " And catch the manners living as they Heel lie wanted to work his way under ground, and Play' off another Highgate Tunnel upon them. The Hon. Proprietor proceeded th argue that India Stack had not risen in value as It ought t it had risen only from 100 to 175, while other property was worth six times what it was a century agoi except the Three per Cent. Consols. He objected to the motion, because it would give their enemies a'handle against them. He was entirely against raising the Directors' salaries, because he was nbt for being generous before he was just. The porters who attended there four and twenty I hours round had only eighteen shillings a week. These men %mired as hard, and Jleserved as well of the Compa: o. as the Directors, and yet he must say, i in candour, that when he came there just now with al party of Ladies to shew them the Library, not roe of these fellows was to be found. Mr. Flume insisted, that the motion stood on the bread ground of public credit. The Company's stock had fallen considerably; in consequence of the Alarm Which had prevailed as to the renewal of the Charter. Should his Majesty's Ministers be induced to comply with the boon requested, which he had little doubt of their doing, the stock would be resto red tei its proper level. Mr. BOSIstiQUIT professed himself most cordial to the motion, but expressed' is doubts of its being car ried into effect without the approbation of Parlia ment. He saw, however, no objection to the appli-i cation being made : the timeb in his opinion, was' most appropriate. Mr. MOOR/ solemnly declared, that no human mature except the Seconder had seen hi* Motions, teitit k t tit flidttedi fof tit* cdetiei t trlri to thie Ceder; which only went .to eletaie that priiperir had hien ae htiproptay &Seised: The motion was at tenth 'allied hi the aillrnia. rive, with only two ditientsentp. Ivri.Mboat . thetiobserved b that he should now Only table his n a ex a proposition, as it would be net:maid/ e t: have it p at a Bectmd General Court. He drew a comparison between the dutiet pf the Direc tors, who *ere obliged to attend at all hours and at all times, and those Boards, who thetely.met to Sign their names. He stated the object of his motion, I which win, to rescind the Bye Law limiting the Al lowances to the Chairs to £300:). and tO Directors MOO, and to increase those Of the Chairs to and of the t)irectors to £lOOO per annum. Mr. LUSHINGTON passed a high eulogium on the serVies of the Directors, during the renewal - 51 the Charter, and concluded by sect:mains. the Motion. • •. Mr. BOSANQUET contended, that in point of order the. motion . could not even be entertained, without convening two special Courts as it went to a grant 'pill of the Cortiparty's Cash. • r. !Await was against taking the Court by stir :prise, although he could not exactly agree With his Hon. Ftiend'i objection as to the point of form.-- lute he was, that the more time was allowed for con siderition, the stronger would be the prospect of suc cess ' he was therefore willing to withdraw his motion, in order that it might be rendered unobjectionable. Mr. Home thought all the Company's home este bliiihment should be submitted to the consideration of a Committee of twenty-one Proprietors, for' the 'Ptirpiises of general increase or retrenchment. Mr. Alderman Miura was inclined to believe, notwithstanding all that the Hon. Mover had assert ed, that there did exist an endeatour to take the Court' by surprise. The Directors ought themselves to bring forward their sentiments on so important a subject : they would be powerfully supported; they could not, indeed, he too highly rewarded, but it was their duty to give up their whole time to the Company. It had been hinted, that patronage was not an object to the Directors—if they really thought so, let them give It up to the Proprietors. • Mr. PLUMMER disclaimed all idea of surprise, and ridiculed the idea of the preceding speaker as to the plan of patronage. Mr. MOORE asserted that the einplre of India afforded the noblest proof that the patronage of the Directors had been well•bestowed. Mr. COTTON was for as long an adjournment to the nature of the case would admit of. The motion was at length, on the suggestion of Mr. Mooac, adjourned till the Gth of October next.► and at three o'clock the Court broke up; ASSIZES. GLOUCESTER. TRIAL FOR MURDER. rrlday, Lae Heath, aged twenty-eight, was in dicted for the wilful murder of Sarah Harris, spinster, ism the night of the 22d, or early on the morning of the 23d of June, 1809, in the Orish of Cow-Honey. bourne, in this county. James Harris, the father of the deceased, was the _first witness called. He stated, that his daughter lived in the house with him, and that they went to bed cn the 22d of June, 1809, about eight o'clock.—' His daughter slept in a room in an opposite corner `of the house to that which he occupied ; her room was nearer the stair-case than his, so that she could go down stairs without paising his apartment. He rose soon after four o'clock on the 23d, and observed ' his daughter's door open, which was an unusual thing; he went out at the back door, which he found a-jar, into a pent-house. Here he saw lying on the ground the dung-fork, which he had placed against the wall over night. He thence went into the gar den to see if his daughter was there, and afterwards to the village to inquire for her at another daughter's, and here he heard * for the first time, that his daugh ter Sarah, the deceased, was with child; he next pro ceeded to a third daughter, who is married and re• sides at Dumbleton; he was told, on his return home, that the body of his daughter was found, and was much affected on viewing it. There was a scar on the left temple, and a hole on the back part of her head. He now saw blood on *the dung-fork, which he had not observed before, and likewise on the wall of the pent-house and the stones. His daughter had washed some stockings the night before, and hung them up to dry ; one pair was bloody ; hz did not hear any thing in the night ; the pond Where the body had been found was about sixty yards from the house. John Price gave in evidence, that on an alarm given on the morning of the 23d of June, 1809, he went to Harris's house, and saw blood on the stones and the dung-fork, and a pair of stockings, which appeared to have been used in wiping off blood. He went for Mr. Brain, and on his return pursued the track of blood to the pond, and found the body ; there was a bruise on the temple, and two holes, as if thrust, on the back of the head. There was a path by the , pond. Witness went for a constable, and saw the prisoner (who had been suspected) in company with Mr. Brain, on his father's farm, about half a mile from Harris's house. The prisoner was taken ir.to custody, and had on an old dirty smock frock. Be• ing disappointed in not obtaining'a warrant, no search of the house was made at the time. A day or two afterwards witness saw the hinges of the doors (five in number) leading from the room of the deceased to the pent-house ; they were much oiled, and would open and shut without noise. The prisoner was pre sent at the Coroner's Inquest, and was discharged in consequence of the verdict" Wilful murder against some person nr •persons unknown." Another appli cation for a warrant was made a few days afterwards, when the house was searched, but the prisoner was not found. He saw the prisoner once or twice after the inquest. William Brain corroborated some parts of the tes timony of the former witness as to the finding the body, &c. He arrested the prisoner on the morning of the murder. Prisoner then said that he had not seen the deceased for three or four months. William Bennett saw the prisoner in custody on 9.3 d June, and talked with him about what he was charged with. Prisoner said be was in the habit di going to see the deceased at nighty after her faller, and herself were gone to bed ; tbat he wept to call her up ; and that the last time lie had seen hes Was r'lsOtt a ioitnight kierote teeter.' Upon Wieneii Or hitil fell he left off visiting tier? he ;aid; after a little hesitation, that he went to call her iip bpe night, and She. would not come dtiwn., Witness Arid if be supposed she was intimate with any one else ? Pristine , said, No. When witness told him he was suspected of the Murder, prisoner said he supposed he Ahotild be. William SeWthan lived in the adjoining house to Harris's; had known the prisoner ten or twelve years, and bad seen hied tiVeral tinies with &rah Harris, between old and new Christthas day; prisoner 'was id deceased's bed.room; svhere he staid two hours, whilst old Harris was at hii labour ; had seen prisoner there often in th^ evening before and after that time. One morning, between four and fie o'clock, he had occasion to get up, and saw the pri soner come out of the back door of the pent-house he walked a smart pace out of the yard, got over the gate,,and went along the road by the pond.— The witness was hot at home at the time of the murder. Joseph Bradley, carter to Mr. Price, saw the pri soner in Mr. Harris's pent-house, one morning, in February, 1309, about three or four o'clock. Wit ness-saw him the morning of the murder, between four. and five o'clock, in Mr. Price's meadow ; be hung his head down, and did not speak ; witness could not tell whether prisoner saw him that Morning. Mary Stanley, sister to the deceased, knew that her slater and the prisoner were acquainted ; she went to her father's house on the morning of the 2Sd of June, and found the deceased's shoes and garters in her room ; she saw the 'prisoner on the inquest, and hays ing asked him whether he did not how that her sister was with child by him? he said he could not say but she was. Edward Ashwin, beftire the murder, mentioned to the prisoner a report, that the deceased was pregnant by him ; prisoner did not deny it, but said there would be no child, for he had seen her take savin and warm water. The. night before the. murder, witness conversed with prisoner, remarking that it would be a bad job, and that the prisoner's father would be very angry. Prisoner replied, he supposed he would. J. Harman Was present at the inquest, when the prisoner wore a dirty smock frock ; prisoner, his fa ther, brother, and sister, all said it was the only frock he had. Witness was appointed a special constable, and searched the prisoner's house ; found some savin in the loft, between a spade and the roof; he went down to apprehend the prisoner twelve or-fourteen days after the murder ; did not find him at his fa ther's ; went ten days after, but prisoner was not there ; was in pursuit of him 65 days, and made a most diligent search ; saw him next in the gaol at Kidderminster, when be was last apprehended had the prisoner in custody at Catnbden, in his way to Gloucester ; prisoner told him he had been in Kent, and on board a . thip for a quarter of a year. When half a mile from Gloucester gaol, the prisoner said, 66 I wish Ibad gone farther, but let me go where 1 will, some of you would have found me." fhe pri lsoner had once before absented himself from his fa ther's house, but he could not tell how long. Many other witnesses were called, who proved that previous to the murder the prisoner wore a diArent frock ;rem that which he had on when apprehended,. which last was affirmed at the inquest to be the only one he had. Joseph Allbut, constable, keeper of the gaol at Kidderminster, stated that the prisoner lived at that place about two years, in different services; before he was taken into custody, and that he pasied .by the name of farmer John. Witness apprehended him on the 12th of April last, after some hours search, as he abruptly left his place that morning. Prisoner trem bled on being taken, and after walking 100 yards with witness, endeavoured to escapes Witness told prisoner there was a serious charge against him, and asked him if he knew any thing of Cow'Honeyb ourne or Gloucestershire ? The prisoner repeated 44 Glou. cester . shire I" and starting, put his hands up to his head, appearing to shed tears. The Magistrate asked the prisoner several questions about his family : pd. soner said he had left home vet y young, and was born at Witney, in•Oxfordshire. He aenied that he knew any thing of Sarah Harris, or that he had ever heard of her murder, and said that in June 1809, and for twelve months before, he was at sea. An Officer of Marines being present, asked him some questions about his ship, from his answers to which, ,it was evident that the prisoner had never been oft' board any. The ship, he said, had 70 guns and two masts, &c. G. Allen corroborated Allbut's evieence. Stephen Richings stated, that he WAS in confine ment at Kidderminster gaol, where the prisoner was committed ; witness was charged with forgery, but the bill was thrown out by the Grand Jury. He asked the prisoner why he was brought in ? Prisoner said for murder. Witness remarked, that if innocent he had nothing to fear. Prisoner said that he was not the man, for there was no proof, and asked them (there being another person present) not to reveal what he told them, which t they promised. The pri soner then, in answer to their questions, told - them that he was taken up about three years ago, on sus picion of murdering a girl who had been found dna in a pool near her lather's house; that he was acquit ted by the verdict of the Jury on the inquest ; that 1 , he had been at Kidderminster two years; that soon after his acquittal a fresh warrant was taken out against him ; that he went to London, and entered aboard a man of war, and changed his name. Here they were interrupted, and the prisoner afterwards repeated his statement, adding, that the girl was pregnant by him, and that was the reason why she was murdered ; that she was beat on the head with a dung-fork, and that he was the man ; he hoped they would not tell. This witness was severely cross-examined, but nothing came out to invalidate his testimony. J. Bishop confirmed the account of this conver. sat ion. R. Lewis was again called to corroborate the for mer witness's testimony, but was not examined. Nine or ten persons spoke well to the prisoner's general character for humanity. Justice DAIIIPIIR summed up the evidence, and the Jury, after a quarter of an hour's deliberation, returned a verdict—Guilty. The Judge passed sentence in the usual form, and ordered the prisoner to be hanged on Monday. He haa gate c onfessed his guilt. During bis which tasted Oren hours, the prisoner betrayed not the least emotion even on hearing the sentence, not a slhgle muscle of his countenance was convulsed. , TEM KING 9. OVUM) A$lD OTHERS. Mr. Toatrao itated, that this was an indictment against the defendants, wh&w i re overseers and inha bitants of the township of ton, tot conspiring to effect a marriage betweett two paupers, for the purpose of burtheding the tiavhiship of Barth with an addi tional charge. The telltale pauper Was a wiclotv of the dame of Ann place, about 40 years of ag?, And who had long been a heavy burthen to the township of !Denton ; the had been left by het husband with four children, and since his death had neatly doubled the number, and at the time this marriage was solemnix.• ed was supposed to be again pregnant. In the adjoin ling township of Barth, resided Matthew Lockwood, an old man and a pauper, whom the defendants had fixed upon as a proper husband for this lady, though there was no earthly reason why Matthew should wish for a wife, except that it was cold weather, be. ing the Month of November. To accomplish this union, it was suggested to old Matthew, that it would be very convenient to him to have a wife, and that if he would take Ann Plate, means would be found to procure him setae money. The bait was irresistible to poor Matthew, who agreed for the sum of ten gui neas to an union with the accomplished Ann Place s which was accordingly solemnised with all convenient dispatch, within about three weeks of its first sugges , tion. The money was paid to Matthew by the Over. seers ; but in order to have some colourable pretest for the payment of this tfioney, a formal indenture was draWn up, by which old Matthew covenanted to perform a certain quantity of hedging; ditching, and draining, for William Slakes, the standing Overseer of the township of Denton. This contract, which was couched Inasformalterms as if it had been thecontreyanceofanestate,wasread by Mr. Topping, and excited great merriment in the Courts Mt. TOPPING said he should be obliged to, go into the enemy's quarters for evidence, and should first pto duce old Matthew, whose evidence he shoidd corrobo rate by that of Ann his wife ; and when be had proved that all the defehdants had interfered in bring ing about this scandalous marriage ; they wduld feel it their duty to find the defendants guilty. The risibility of the Court had been so much er. cited, that when old Matthew appeared in the wit nesses' box, a general burst of laughter took place. Matthew Lockwood stated, that he lived at Eccup, in the township of Barth, and occupied one of the town houses ; for which he paid no rent; the town,also found him in coals, and.he had occasionally received other relief from it. In the month of August his wife died, and he was married to his present wife itt the Novem ber following. Being asked his reason for taking ono. thet wife, he replied that Money was very tempting. In November the witness was working ih the township of Denton, and lodged in the house of Jonathan Haw. croft, one of the defendants. Hawcroft recotnmended him to take another wife, saying, .. She would keep him clean ;" but, added Matthew, with great feeling, fi I have not found it so." Hawcroft, to back his re commendation with a more cogent argument, added, that, " if he should stand forward, to marry Ann Place, he did not doubt but money would be found for him." This suggestion overcame the reluctance of the witness, and he promised Hawcroft to try the wi. dow, and the very next evening he paid a_visit. His reception was as flattering as any lover could desire, and every impediment was removed at the very first Interview ; and at the end of a week the bans were published, or, as the witness expressed it, the spur rings were put in. The ardour of Matthew's love did not, however, reader him unmindful of the fortune he was to recive with his accomplished bride, and after various negotiations and conferences with the over seers and other inhabitants, who interested themselves in this important negotiation, and in the course of which all the defendants became implicated in the transaction, it was at length settled. that the sum of ten guineas should be paid to him as soon as the nup tials were solemnized ; but before this took place, the witness was required to sign, what Mr. Topping huthourously stiled the marriage articles, the contract for hedging and ditching. Every ohatie being re moved, the marriage took place to the 9th ofl4lo - the marriage dinner, with its concomitant eocpses, cost, however, a large sum of the marriage portion- r no less than se4en guineas., The over. seers being wisely .determined to have something 'for their money, partook of this splendid. nuptial ' entertainment, and the next morning, it is pro bable, that all the parties were better satisfied than old Matthew. Witness said, he had cost his township many pounds since his marriage ; but this, on cross-examination, turned out to be on account of an accident, by which he had been confined three months to his bed nor did it appear that any addi. tional charge had been brought upon it on account of his sea. Ann Lockwood, the wife of the last witness, said she had been chargeable some years to the township of Denton ; her present husband was introduced to her by John Hawcroft, who told her that he had brought her a husband; witness said she had no ob. lemons to marry him. Witness was then questioned as to thernanner in which her children were disposed of and it appeared that she had only two for which she received pay, the others having been disposed of by the overseers, and for which she supposed they were repaid by the fathers of the children. Witness said Mathew Lockwood was the only person who persuaded her to marry. Mr. Justice Commit thought it would have been better to have tried this cause at the Sessions, than to put the parties to so much expence in defending it at York ; and he intimated that as it did not appear that any increase of expence had accrued to the township of Barth,and that it originated with a poor man, aho certainly had himself no interest, it would not be pro per to bring the parties up for judgment in case they were found guilty.—The Jury acquitted the defen dants. The Judge the said, the offence imputed to the defendants was a very heinous one, and one punisha ble by the law. It was extremely wrong in Overseers or others, enaeavouring to bring about an union be tween persons, who neither by circumstances nor in clination were fitted for each other, for the purpose of relieving their own townships from expense, and more especially when it was to be effected by but tlaening (pother township. 0,