The National Register. — London, England, 1813-08-29 00:00:00

TION . • which witness had consented; ti ey then went to Ballinahineh to' . . . the house of one Singer, where they drank some p unch ; Jentungs then ft witness there, and went out ;be returned, and took her to die h se of Hugh Wilson, where the prisoner was ; Jennings then said, here is the minister who will flurry you and me ; prisoner rose up, took off his hat, and said that he was ; he then repeated • what witness thought was a marriage ' • he asked Jennings if he would take witness for his lawlid wife before God and the world, and inked witness it she would take Jennings for her husband, and • 'joined their hands together. Witness is a Protestant of the &Ail- blished Church - Jennings is a Roman Catholic. A ft er the marriage, witness asked for the marriage -lines, but prisoner said, it was not usual with him to give marriage -lines: witness still insisting, Jen nings said, " Plea , e your Reverence you must satisfy the girl ;" prisoner then wa...ot for paper, and wrote the lines which were pro duced in Court ; they were merely a scrawl on half a sheet of paper, as follows : " These are to certify, that Mary Hair is this day joined in marriage to Christopher Jennings, of Drumara, as given tinder my band, this 26th December, 1812. 46 W. M. G." Jennings read them to the witness, who put tlein in her pocket ; prisourr said he was always paid for such deities, and Jennings then gave her three ten-pennies, which she gave to prisoter, who threw them on the table dissatisfied saying, was he to be college-bred and !carn et!, and to be curbed of his fair demand ; it iiniogs said. '' An please your Reverence, Mr. .Howdy. whatever is your demand I'll pay ;" prisoner then took up the ten pennies and put them in his pocket ; pri soner then went out, and- on his return said he had got lodgings for them from Mrs. 51'Kee, and took them there, saving to Mrs. M'Kee, lie would he answerable for the consequences, ns they were Man and wife ; witness accordingly staid there with Jennings all night as man and wife, but has never lived with him ilium. Cross examioed.--Ilad been acquainted with Jennings fur 12 months, during which he courted her ; had been in a room alone with Jerioio. 2 .4, before the day he took her to the prisoner to be manied, but nothinA improper happened ; never any thing between them that she could care who was present; did not say to any one before the marriage, that site was the wite of -Jennings ; never went to meet Jennings at his own lodgings ; was once in his room by accident, having been to the house with a message, when Jennings treated witness; they drank the punch as fast as possible, being in a hurry to go to liaalliaahinclt after they had made it up. Question by Mr. Scriven.--llad you no objection to be treated by Jennings ?--A. I suppose you hare treated a girl before now yourself. When Jennings proposed marriage, witness wanted to go to her • brother and sister, but he would not let her. When M‘llvena intro duced them to t h e lodgings, he said to Mrs. M•Kee, he would take his affidavit that they were decent married persons; which, on Mrs. N'Kee seeming to doubt, he said, b—d and w—ds, would you doubt my word ! The day after they were married, at parting, it was agreed between them, that she should give warning to her master to leave him; and Jennings undertook to satisfy her father and mother about the runaway match. He-then, however, said, lie must tell her some more of his roguery, fur that witness was not his wile. Witness re turned to her 'nester's. Margaret Hair, the mother of the girl, was next examined ; can neither read nor write; lived next door but one to Jennings; got the lines from her daughter the Monday after Christmas; witness web very angry Ishii her daughter, who cried bitterly ; she is seventeen yeure of age; had only been a year and an hall from home, in Mr. Knues service. Jane MiCre lives in Ballinahincle ; prisoner came to her house, and asked if she could give Jennings a►►d Mary Hair a bed ; witness said she could, if they were man and wife ; he said they were, and that he had been doing law business for them, and had detained them till it was too late. He then brought Jennings and girl ; and on witness expressing her doubts of their being married, he II .id lie would take his affidavit of it : lie then loft them, and Jennings and Mary Hair r , at down to the fire, while. witness was getting tea ready ; they slept to• gether that night ; never beard that prisoner was a clergyman it was said that he was a lawyer by profession. Christopher Jennings sworn.- Knows Mary Heir; was in company with her the day after Christtuat-day ; had been in a private room with her before that, and had intimate knowledge of her for six months before ; never heard Mary Hair say she was witness's wife ; prisOner never married them, no•r joined their hands ; did not hear that Ike was a Clergyman; he is called the Counsellor; Owner did not give Mary Hair any marriage lines. The Learned J edge charged the Jury, stating the nature of the indictment, and summing -up the evidence. He animadverted on the equivocating nature ofJettning's evidence, and put it to the Jury to say what weight tiey should attach to it. ,L REGIS' R • ATTGIMIT 29 , The Jury retired, and in a short thou brou lit in a verdict finding the prisoner guilty, Olt all the counts in the intrietment. After Christopher Jennings had given Inc evidence, as aLove stated be was removed from the table Mtn dock ; and on Thursday-Ja tried on an indictment for a conspiracy debauch Mary Hair, and an assault.--Ilie Jury brought him in Gnilty. When Michael Al'llventi was called to the bar to receive sentence and a,ked by the Clerk of the Crown, if he taxi . at.y thin:l to say wh sentence of death ,hotild not pass ag..in , t him ; be seemed co; unmoved, and said, it was a crime he sValr never guilty of. His Lordship (Judge Mayne) pri.ceeded to pr‘mounce sentence He said, be had been convicted of a crime of gredt ihagnitud• , ar very destructive of the peace of society--that of pretending to be Clergyman and marrying two persons of different religions persuasions__ (Prisoner. " I never did it, my Lord,)" tor the base porpo.e of et bauching a voting and innocent woman. The crime he Lad bek g uilty of, had, by an express act of the Legislature, s , ills grelt be en made a capital felony. Ile was sorry to observe, that in thi conntry it was much too frequent --(Prisoner. " I never did it. it pretended to do it.")--It was a clime calculated perhapa mare t!i; col other to ruin the peace of families, and introduce the real; disorders into civilized society. It is capital felony--iind aggi - av:it by the impose for which it was committed, as %ethic:tin,' was evideo part of the plan ; of all sehich, hi• Lordship oliserved, he had hero. might say, twice found guilty, even by she testimony of Jennigs, the satisfaction, opparemly, of all spectators. Nothing remaioed him but to pass the sentence of the law :--that you, Michael M'llvey be taken to the place frens whence you came, and tricot thence to II minium place of execution, and there to be hung by the neck eni, you are dead ; and the Lord have mercy on your soul. Prisoner.--" I hope your Lordship will give me a long time." His Lordship ob-erved, that sufficient time would be given him, Ile hoped lie would make a good use of it. The day of execution was tiled fur she 18th of September. The Learned Judge, on passing sentence on Christopher Jennie ; animadverted on the enormity of the crime, observing that bis gu was so much augmented by the attempt he made, as a witness, screen his accomplice (Nl'llvena) from punishmetit, and in which appeared to have committed wilful and corrupt perjury. Ile was sentenced to stand on the pillory one hour, in Downpatric to pay a fine of 501. and be imprisoned fur one year. At the Truro Assizes, in an action brought by Mr. Wil;iams, London merchant, against the proprietors of the mail-coach, hetwei Exeter and Falmouth, fur having had his leg fractured, and some his ribs broken, in consequence of the overturning of the coach Poison-bridge, owing to the negligence of the coachman, a spec: Jury gave a verdict of 2511. damages. RlusEnv AND MURDER.—An Inquest has been held on the bed of the Rev. Nicholas Westcombe, who was found 'wintered Saturday se'unight, in a path way, at a short distance from Winch' ter, leading to the Andover-road. It appeared, the deceased k been seen walking upon the road, at nine o'clock in the morning it was between nine and ten when his body was discovered. belief prevailed that he had died by apoplexy; but, ona me minute inspection of the body, a violent bruise was discoveil 111111C1' the jaw, which, it was imagined, produced instant deal' added to which, a soldier of the WM regiment, of the name Robert Glasse, on the death being mentioned in his hearing, i mediately said he had seen the deceased lying near the si►,. described in the morning, but that he did not attempt to disturb hint, because be thought lie was asleep. The improbability of a story (it being early in the morning), with some other circumstanc , led to his being apprehended. Upon his examination, he was cal upon to account for how he disposed of his time during the inornii named ; which account he give ; but it was afterwards• falsified many points, and the suspicions of his taring the perpetrator of crime partook of rather a circumstantial form.- The Jury return a verdict of fil(fui Murder against him, and he was committer' the County Gaol. He is a man of more knowledge and than are usually found in persons of his station, but of reputed bad character. Mr. Westcombe was Rector of Barton Stacey, near Winchester, Vicar of Cullingbonrne, and one of the Minor Canons of Winchester Cathedral. A Watch and some money, which he was known to have about him, were taken fronthis person. .• FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE MORDIHIV Or THE REV. NICHOLAS WEsTcosstmaMednesday, Taunton, the officer, ar rived in town from Winchester. It appears dud the man who is in custody under suspicion of being the pillipetritor of this lion id deed, has -undergone many interrogatorilKin the greater part of which he has prevaricated. He is unable ia - Aiti any evidence as to 29. ding red, Jast, I for nce, why ,uitc nee. and yea - open /jct., this nu, Finn :test :teal ut y 1. he to I for the but lungs guilt 10 he rick ) Is, a veep e of It on tend )olly d on had ing : A • Imre cd at h: t of , irtl- spot tarts r the ices, died ning II in r the !lied to bail