The National Register. — London, England, 1821-08-13 00:00:00

p. p. •-• . r • . . send it by the post, which way you may deem most con. venient and proper. " I am, my dearest Hallett, your's very sincerely. faithfully, and affectionately, " R. COLLINS." " P.S.—The Cordial is not of an unpleasant, but rather of a pleasant taste." " Addressed Hannah Stammers, William, Essex." Upon the receipt of this letter, with its accompaniment, she took the pennyroyal, as prescribed, but it had not the effect desired. When she saw the prisoner after wards, lie told her that lie would bring her something that would do her good. He then brought her a box of steel pills, which he desiral her to take every morning fasting. The box contained 12 pills, which she took; but they produced another effect than to heat her system violently. He had seen her frequently at this time, and desired her to keep on taking the pills. He aliens ards brought her a gallipot, containing some electuary, but what it was she did not know, desiring her to take a piece about the size of a walnut three times every day. The pot was to last her one day. This nut having the desired effect, he brought her 3 twigs of some sort of tree, the name of which she did not know, a ills directions to boil half of them iii two quarts of water, until it was reduced to one quart, and take it tea cup full three times every day. This she did for about two days. Upon this failing lie told her to get some steel filings, and make them Into pill., and take them three times a day. This she did; but the same eveniiig, he told her not to take the fillings in the shape of pills, but in some liquid, and Willie particles hung about her iii nth, to rince them Mien with tea or water. He mentioned that is lady is h he knew had been three months gone with child, and steel filings had done away the situation she was in. Having taken the steel Slings for a day, without effect, he then brought her a phial of medicine, of a pale red colour, of which he desired her to take two tea 111111111 IS full, ill a cup of warm wale', three timesa day. She took this medicine once, but it would not stay on her stomach, aad made her retch viulently. He then ad vised her to take It in cold a ater, which she did, hitt it had the same effect. She was now so ill that she was obliged to leave her place, and go home to her mother's house at Bores haul, where she was desired by the pris oner to remain quiet, and perhaps the medicine would remain on her stomach.— She look the medici )))) ileitis), when she got home, and her mother, a decent woman, who gets her living by at tending ladies ill childbirth, detected her in the fact, and npon discovering that site had been seduced, and the ob ject of taking such 'medics, she iinmediately snatched the bottle from her, and in her fright threw it intothe lire, where its contents burin like spirits. The mother took the earliest opportunity that her avocations would permit of calling on the prisoner, at his lodging: in Witham, and in an inlelview will him site said, " Good God 1 how Caine you to give Hannah that stun* a hie h she brought home in a bottle?"— He said " Mrs. St/limners, I will state the truth. When I first stated to Hannah that 1 could not make her my wife, she hung about me ; she said she would rather die than live; she was sure that she dare not come to Boreleam ; her friends would take no notice of her. " Good Good," said the mother, " what could you think in giving her that stuff? 1 verily believe, had she taken the nova . • part that tans in that bottle, she would have been a ce.rpse. The prisoner answered," 1 know that." The mother then said, " Put she has not taken it." The prisoner replied, "1 am glad of it." The unhappy parent then said," Whit answer am Ito take to Horeham ? The prisoner replied, "At this moment I cannot give you an answer that you will be satisfied with," and bid her good afternoon, For four months the prosecti trix remained in anxious expectati )))) that the prisoner would fulfil his engagement to marry her. Her pregnancy was edvancs ing, and although her constitution had Overcome the attempts made to destroy it, her health was in a precarious state. — Repeated applications were made to the prisoner to marry her, but he as often declined, upon the plea of inability, and that he was afraid of losing his situation without a character. At length the unhappy girl came to c sfurd, and placed the prisoner's letter in the hands of Mr. Archer, clerk to the magistrates of the district, and asked his advice bow she ought to proceed. Mr. Archer inneediat. ly wrote a rely sensible letter to the pr i soner. advising him to make her the only compensation he could, namely, by making her his wife, and at the same tinie aaruine ilim that the helpless and dis tiessed Ilaimah was not without friend, who would see her righted, if lie persi-ted hi injustice. The letter was answered in a manner which gave offence to Mr. Atelier, mid a further correspoteleuce ensued, a hich elided in lasing the caw before Sir John Tyrrell, Hatt. and the rest of the Bench id' magistratesoiho immediately recommended that the prisoner hould be prosecuted, and bound over the poor girl to appear at the Assizes for that purpose. She now appeared to give evidence reluctantly against her faithless seducer, and told her story in un artless and prepossessing manner. Her evi dence was corroborated by her mother, and by a fellow ser vant, named Moss, who had put clothed the steel filings for her, in consequence of the suggestion of the prisoner. The prisoner, in his demeanour, seemed little affected by his situation. To the very last, an oeput Minty was aforded him of making his peace, by mart pate the git I, but he refused, alleging matters were gone toa f r. He had been admitted to bail. Repeated overtures had been made to lam to marry the girl since ills commitment ; but lie declined for the reason stated. In his defence he insisted that the girl had seduced him, and that at her earnest request he had procured and adiiii• iiktered to her the drugs in question, in consequence of her having become pregnant. Several iespectable tuliabitants of Witham, and amongst others Mr. Pattison, his master, gave him an extremely good character for morality and general correctness of deportment. Mr. Mackay, jinn. a young man about the prisoner's age, now a surgeon at Bury St. Edmun d 's, and then an assistant to a sill genii at Witham, gave it as his opinion, that pennyroyal or steel filings administered in any quan tity could not produce a miscarriage. A large dose of steel filings might produce death, but not 11l iscarriage. Cross-esainined.—The prisoner was intimate with him. Ile had Heim purchased any medicines of him, but he had guru the poisoner what he wanted. The prisoner asked him a hat medicine would be good to produce men that lie had had au intercourse with a young set vain gill, as ill! VIA& ill the family way ; and witness re commended pennyroyal. Witness never gave the ',livelier any thieg that could piodttce miscarriage. Dr. Pritchard, a physician of Chelmsford, was also of opinion that neither pennyroyal nor steel filings could produce miscarriage, if taken in any quantity. Death might be produced by steel filings, if a sufficient quantity could he taken into the stomach, but before that quantity could lie taken, the stomach would nauseate and "eject it. ill r. Baron Wood nth! the Jury, in h uint of law, that if they were satisfied the prisoner lied atlimuisteied the u._!'' ~. THE NATIONAL REGISTER drugs with intent to procure miscarriage, though they were incapable of producing that effect, and though the young woman had willingly consented to take them, the ease was within the statute, and they were bound to find the prisoner guilty. The Jury immediately found the prisoner guilty. The Learned Judge expressed himself perfectly satis fied with the verdict, and ' adverted in strong terms upon the enormity and cruelty of the prisoners crime.— Public example required the severest vidtation of punish ment that the law authorized, in order to warn others against committing a similar crime, which unhappily was but too prevalent. The sentence of the court therefore was, that the prisoner should be transported for the term of 14 years. OXFORD. SWADLING V. TARPLEY. _ This cause excited a very considerable degree of inte rest. It was an action for defamation, brought by the plaintiff against the defendant, a clergyman, at Floore, near Daventry, Not thaingtonshire, and nett known in the University and city of era ford, having formerly been a tutor of Christ Church College, and proctor of the Uni. versity in 1813. The plaintiff had lived five yews in the service of a Mr. Gunner, a respectable tradesman of the city of Oxford, where she conducted herself' to the entire satisfaction of Mr. and Mrs. Gamier. The plaintiff went from Mrs. Gunner's to the defendant's, where she re mained three year's and a half, as nursery-maid ; during three years of which lime the defendant and his wife fre quently called upon Mr. Gunner when they visited Ox ford, and spoke an the highest terms of the plaintiff, and thanked Mr. Gunner for having recommended so valuable a servant. About flute months after the plaintiff had quitted the defendant's arms ice (pursuant to warning given by her to the defendant's wife), time plaintiff was hired by a Mrs. Turner, the wife of William Turner, Esq. as a cook, and the day was appointed for the plaintiff to go to Mrs. 'lurnet's. Upon Mrs. Turner applying to the defendant for the plaintiff's character, the defendant wrote the following letter:— " MRS. TURNER, SDIPTON.ON-CHORWELL, NEAR WOOD- STOCK, oIFOleosIliKE. ie Madam,—Mrs. Tarpley being unwell, has requested me to answer your letter 01 the 23d, received this morn ing. Susan Swadling lived with us as nurse maid for more than three years, and we have reason to believe was fur some time attentive to her duty; but now she is neither honest, sober, nor steady, and would have been turned away if she had not given warning. Under the semblance of modesty and good conduct, she is, iu fact, a most vi cious and profligate woman. It is impooNible. Mr me to describe the gross insolence she is capable of, and has fre quently 'hewn to Mrs. l'arpley. We have undoubted proof of her going to the man servant's bed-noun niost nights, for mouths before she left. No servant would or could live with her, and numbers left us on her account as a proof of this, we have two returning to us at Ali chaelmas, whom she drove out. lam glad of an opportu nity of exposing her character. for a wore vile wretch dues not exist. I know her to be a base liar, a great thief, an assokat Musty, and to have lost her clicacter. The Wan servant's name is David Sealy, and you may have many OppOrtUtlilies of inquiting about them in Oxford. 1 wish you to read this letter to her, should you see her again, but I warn you ou nu account to take her Into your ser vice. " Your humble servant. " K. M. it. 'IAIIPLLY." " Moore, Daventry, Sept. 26,1820. In consequence of this letter, Mrs. Turner refused to take the plaintiff into her service; and for the injuly the plaintiff had sustained by the defendant's having w oaten this letter, the present action was brought. Some of the most respectable witnesses appeared mi the part of the plaintiff, and spoke in the highest toms of her charac ter. _ _ Mr. Cross addressed the Jury on the part of Ike de fendant, after which several witnesses were called to prove the charges contained in this letter were tine. I‘lr. Jervis made a must eloquent reply ; and the Jury, alter hearing the Judge's chat ge, and considering their verdict shout ten minutes, returned a verdict tor the planititE—Ddlildges 501. BUCK INGIIA MSIII E. THE KING V. Tli OMAS IFYISTIVOOD,LEsQ. A BURitSS OF CHIPPING•WYCOMU. At these assizes tile ahuve, one in the most important and Interesting causes which has tor a long period come uelore this Court, was tried before Al r. JOStiCe Richard son and a special jury. The cause took up nearly set ell hours. 'the sulued to be decided was the title of the defendant to be a burgess of Untying Wycomb, and to try which an information in the nature of a Tao warranto was filed against the deteaulant, at tile instance of James Kingston, a burgess, and Joseph Bates, au inhabitant of the borough, to show by what right lie exercised that (Alice. Toe prosecutor contended that die right of dec imal of burgesses was in the barges , ' s at large, by virtue of the charters granted to that borough. 'lnc defendant, who had been chosen by the Mayor and Common Council only, set up four Se%erdi pleas Ili support of hits title; the one founding his right upon an immemorial custom in the borough, of electing burgesses by the Mayor and Common Couticil ; and the three other pleas, substantially the me, supported his title upon presumed by-law made by tue corporation at large, dele gating the right of making burgesses to the May,r and Cot ttttt on Council. To these pleas issue was taken by the prosecutor. The illegality of the defendant's ode, as founded upon the first plea, was contended at much length and with great ability by Mr. Dover; and a great mass of documentary es idence was praduc, d, for the pur pose of proving that the borough hail out been immemo rially ineorporaed under the name which they now bear, of mayor, burgesses, and bailiffs. %Volt regard to the three other pleas, founding the right of election in the select body as arising from a presumed by-law, several cases were cited. Mr. Sergeant Blossett, with equal abtl ty, supported the defendant's title on all the picas, and produced a variety of old corporation books, comineo clog as early as the year Mb, disclosing no conclusive evidence against, btu ttttt ch evidence iu favour of an un interrupted usage in the Mayor. and C Council to elect burgesses in exclusion of the burgesses at large. The charter of King Philip and Queen Mary was produced as evidence lor the immemorial iticorrsation of Mr borough as mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses. The learned counsel then proceeded to argue on the other pleas, in support of wlneli he cited -1 Coke, cases or corporations, .-Tama a t* , rw 253 40th Elizabeth, Rex v. Spencer, 3 Burr. 2827, Rex v. Head, 4 Burr. 2515. Mr. Justice Richardson summed up with great per spicuity, and left it to the jury, 39 a matter of fact, to de cide whether custom had from time immemorial for the Mayor and Comnton•Council to elect busgesses. If that fact was nut .found, his Lordship stated that then the defendant's title rested upon the presumed by-law, which his Lordship was of opinion might be presumed ; but stating that whether such by-law existed was a mat ter of fact; out of which two questions of law arose— the one, whether a right of legislation was vested in the select body of the charter ; and the other, if nothing was said in the charter about by-laws, whether the body at at large could make such a by-law as pleaded by the de fendant, which his Lordship was inclined also to think they could. The learned Judge then concluded by di recting the jury to say, whether an immemorial custom had existed in the borough of Chipping Wycomb for the Mayor and Common Council to elect burgesses; or whether there must not have been a by-law, made by the body at large, delegating the power of electing burgesses to the select body. The jury, alms taking some time to consider, found a verdict for the defendant on all the points. OPENING OP THZ EAU BRINK CUT.—Tuesday week having been appointed for formally opening the New River, a very handsome steam barge (the Swifisure, of London), of 120 tons burthen, arrived at Lynn she pre ceding Sunday, with several of the EIU Brink Drainage • Commisatmeis on board, for the purpose of going up the Cut; she was neatly decorated with colours, and pro vided with an excellent hand of music. So early in the morning of Tuesday as five o'clock, persons began to • flock towards the Cut, and from that until after eight is'clock, the numbers rapidly increased. On the entrance •10 of the steam vessel into the Cut, the bind struck up " God save the King." She passed through the Bridge in the most beautiful style, and three cheers from the populace proclaimed thegratificatiou they felt in whom- • tog so pleasing a spectacle. At four o'clock a party of • 240 gentlemen, having been invited by the Eau Brink Committee of Management, sat down to a most sump. tuous dinner at the Town Hall, the use of which had been grained to them for that purpose by the Mayor awl Corporation. The excellent arrangement of the dinner, and profusion of the viands and wine, reflect infinite . credit on Mr. Filby, the landlord of the Crown Inn, by whoa; they hail been provided. Lord Wm. 1 3entinek presided on the occasion.—On Wednesday morning the SieJlll barge was allotted for the use of the ladies, who • went up the Cut irsher, and afterwards took am excursion • down the Roads. At one o'clock the bankers and work. men (400 in number), who had been employed on the Cut, had a good dinner provided for therm near the Bridge, by Mr. Banker the Contractor. DREADFUL DEATH.-011 Thursday nights coroner's - inquest war lied at the sign of the liuke of York, St. . John -street, New-road, before Thomas Stirling, Esq. coroner, on the body of Mrs. Eleanor Alexandre, aged 44, an officer's widow, whose death was attended by the • hallowing circumstances :—lt appeared from the evidence - of Ann batimbe, servant to the deceased, that on Tues day night last she was with her mistress m the kitchen when she was in perfect health. After conversing to gether for some time, witness supplied the deceased with • a candle . to go to bed, and site left her playing with a kitten on the table. Witness went to bed, but about two o'clock in the morning she was alarmed by a knock. tug at the street door and a cry of fire; site smelt fire. anti immediately gut ont of bed anti knocked at the de evasetl . bed-room door; she heard the deceased panting for breath, and she admitted the person's who gave the alarm into the house, oil which they broke open the door of the room in winch the deceased slept. On entering the apartment the place was all on fire, and the bed anti window curtains, together with the bed and mattress, with every other article in the room, were horned to a cinder. The deceased was found lying in iii the bed in a most horrid condition, some parts of her bogy hciitg nearly burnt to a cinder, but not quite dead. perNotis witu entered pot out the remaining fire, and on taking the deceased (tom the bed, her thumb, which was literally burnt to a cinder, fell of near thy door. She lived till the morning after, when she died in great 114111. She was not able m sp ea k f the time site was found until tier death. It appeased that the de. - ceased was in the habit of burning a night-light, and on going to bed she laid it opposile the wholow, which was open, and was close to the curtains, and it is supposed wind either blew a spark from it, or that the dame of the candle communicated to the curtains, which soon set fire to the place during the time she was asleep. Toe deceased was possessed of some property, and resided m the house where she met with her death for many years. • The Jury returned a verdict of " Accidental D:ath." DEArk BY BURNING.—On Wednesday an eldeey lady residing in Cumberland -street, New-road, whilst sitting in her apartment, reading by the fire, a spark clew out on her clothes, and before she discovered it, her clothes fainted into a blaze, and in a moniziit she was enveloped to flames. Iler screams alarmed the whole neighbour' ,od, hut belore assistance Caine, she was burned in a most dreadful manner, sonic parts of her body to a cinder, and she exhibited a horrid spectacle.— Site expired shortly alter, in the most excruciating pain. A petition to Parliament is in progress, from the persons habitually serving as Jurors in the City of London, praying revision of the Criminal Code, with a view to mitigate the severity thereof. We hope that this example will be followed by the per sons serving as Jurors throughout the several Ci cuits in England and Ireland. The Primitive Methodists, otherwise called Ranters, lately held a camp meeting ors Cockfield Hill, near Durham. Two females, two itineran preachers, spoke to the people as<.•mbled, whom, it is supposed, amounted to nearly :),000. Aft.,•4l.*