The National Register. — London, England, 1812-09-20 00:00:00

SEPT. CO. f e n .atiL was his only son, and as appeared from the statement of the proseeutor, had been an extremely extravagant and wild young man. The prosecutor's wife, the mother of the defendant, had been dead up wards of twelve years, having died of an abcess in the side. In conse quence of the prosecutor having refused to continue to supply the de fendant with money to support his extravagance, he had accused his father, both by word of mouth and by, letter, with having murdered his mother, and the letters containing the accusation in question were time libel complained of. These letters were put in and read, hut owing to a clerical error, in stating the libel on the record, the Learned Chairman directed the Jury to acquit the defendant. He w.s then put to the bar on an indictment, charging him with an assault upon his father, who is upwards of 66 years of age, on the `2llth of May last. This assault was proved by the evidence of the prosecutor, corroborated by . that of a gentleman named Herbert, who went up to the spot where it was committed, (a stable-yard in W bite diaper/ and saw the prosecutor on the pound, and the defendant beatine, him with a mop-handle. Tice defendant denied haviug ever struck his father, who, he de clared solemnly, lead murdered his mother, and that he had s een him perpetrate the horrid ' deed, not content with that, but he had since tried to injure the defendant's innocent et - spring, a little girl about nine years of age, who was standing by the side of her father. The prosecutor said, so far from having injured the child in question, she was mind. r his protection till the defendant came and took her away by force ; a son of the defendant's was at boarding school, where the prosccut4r supported him, and he had left each of the children 501. a year in his will. The Jury found the defendant guilty, and the Court :,chienccd to be imprisoned for one year in the House of Correc tion, and at the exp ra'ion ut' that film, to find security for his pod bJuiviour fur two )ears. OLD BAILEY. Werinesday these Sessions were opened by the Right Hen. the Lord ;1 l‘layor, Mr. justice Heath, Mr. Justice Bailey, Mr. Justice Gibbs, .! the Recorder, Aldermen, and other City Officers. Thomas Cutter, a youth of about IS years of age, was indicted for cutting and maiming. John Hedges, an o!ci man, between 70 and SO years of age, deposed, that he rents a garden at Hampstead, and on the 6th of July last, about ten o'clock at night, he observed the prisoner who'n he had known a, a labourer about four years) among his cucumbers in his garden. He spohe..to him, but received no answer, and ran away. Prosecutor then ran after and caught him upon the paling, just as he was getting over into the adjacent garden. The prisoner would not speak for some tone, a•ici the prosecutor perceived raw hing about him ; at last, however, he drew a large clasp knife, and cut the sinews of his right hand in two places, cut him also in the head, and made a cut at hii p throat, w.nen he efrected his escape. A singe , n attended, and dressed his ;Mr. Hedges') wounds, and the prisoner %vas apprehernletr at his mother's house, where he pretended to be asleep, with his tread on a table. He at first denied a knowledge of the transaction, but being told he had better try to settle it with Mr. Hedges, he confessed the whole, and seemed desirous of settling it. On his being searched the knife was found in his pocket, covered with blood. A surgeon swore to the state of the wounds; but it appearing that Mr. Hedges struck the prisoner with a sti,ilt before lie received them, the Learned Judge observed, that the (Vence, however atrocious, did not come within the meaning of tire Act of Parliament, and tine prisoner was consequently discharged. Thursday, James Hunter was put to the bar, on a charge of stealing one pair of stp,es, of the value of five shillings, privately, in the shop of Thomas Matt hew Redaway. Mr. Redaway is a shoemaker living in the Strand, and on the after noon of the day stated in the indict rnent, the prisoner, together with two other persons, went to his shop to buy shoes, and shortly after they had departed he missed the shoes in question. He was appre• hended a little atter, and the shoes were found upon his feet ; he was immediately conveyed before the Sitting Magistrates at Bow.street, and instantly recognized as the sailor who had been all the previous night in custody for having thrown a dog from the one shilling gallery of Covent-garden Theatre into the pit, and who had been liberated out of mercy. The case was fully proved, and the prisoner being called upon for his defence, disavowed all knowledge of the shoes as to what means he had come possessed of them ; saying he had been but two days in Lon:lon at the tone he was apprehended, and that he had been kept drinking by the women, who were with him the whole time, and that he knew not what he had been doing no more than the child unborn ; he served his Majesty and his country on board the Victorians, in several cngagemennts, anti at that moment had a ball lodged in his hack, that could never be extracted. The reason of his being then in London was, that he obteined leave of absence to see some fiends, and that it his Captain and his messmates knew where he then was, they would one and all give hint a good character ; that during eight years he had served in the Victorious ire had never had a blemish of any kind against hire, but fairly did his duty. The Court enquired of the officer who had apprehended him Nch-- ther he WAS sober or otherwise at the time ? The olticer answered, THE NATIONAL REGISTER. 559 that he was intoxicated; and added, that on searching him, he bad money about him, and alsn a certificate, giving him leave of absence from the ship till the Bth of October next. 1 he evidence being summed up, the Jury gave a verdict of guilty of stealing to tho value of -Is. 10d. anA recointnended hint to mcrcy,which the Court signified should be attended to. CHARGES OF MURDER. Friday, Benjamin Clitliod was indicted for murdering Patrick Doyle, in the parish of Poplar. on the 25th August last. Front the evide n ce it appeired, that Poplar and the neighbourhood were kept the w lode day in a s:iite of continud riot, and it became neces sary to call out even tile military to restore order. The deceased and the prisoner had several baffles in the ocurie of the day, and they were seen to renew them at diKrent times in the course of the evening, and were separated by the watchmen. One of ti:c watchmen, in partio cular, remonstratetl with the prisoner upon the impropriety of his conduct, and told him it was useless to pretend to be drunk when he was not, adding, '' 1. have seen enough of your dioikenness." Mr. Peele, t Surgeon, stated, that lie was called to examine the deceased, and he found le entirely gone, which he supposed to have been occasioned by a wound which the deceased received upon the left breast, and extended to his heart. The knife now produced would have inflicted such a wound, as the •ize of the 'wife and wound exactly corresponded. Another watchman deposed, that the prisoner came to the watch house in the evening, and said he had got out of a row by jumping over hedges and ditches, and he left his hat and jacket with a Mrs. Ford. The witness was then inducetito walk over the ground which the deceased would take on his way home, and he found hint dead. Henry Ilamstead, a Nvatchman, searched the prisoner's lodgings, as well as his person, and found a large clasp knife, (that produced in Court,) w !...ad every appearance at being newly scoured, either ia said or in earth. The evidence having here finished, the Learned Judge observed, that the verdict could only amount to manslaughter, and he did not think the evidence sufficient even to warrant that, because there was no proof of the pri s oner having caused the ueath of the deceased. Verdict—Not Guilty. Sarah Bennett was indicted for having murdered her bastard child on the 29th of August last. Two Surgeons, who examined the corpse of the child, having deposed, that its (loath might have occurred in the birth, the Jury, under the direction of Mr. Justice Bailey, ac quitted the prisoner. Thomas Heath was indicted 1:r the murder of his wife, by cruelly beating and kicking her in different parts of the body. Sarah Cox deposed, that on a Monday morning she conversed with the deceased, and was shewn the mark ola violent blow en the breas'. and a wound in her arm ; there was no mark of violence on her head, Witnes saw her etn Tuesday, when she pointed to her breast, and told her she had got the fatal bane there; on the Wednesday she died. Two respectable Surgeons were then sworn, and they deposed that the blows were not the cause of the deceased's death, but that it was occasioned by a considerable quanfity of blood and serum which had coll , 'eted in the ventricles at the brain. Thy Jury then returned a verdict of Not Guilty. MELANCHOLY OCCURRENCE. The following melancholy occurrence took place on Monday % a t house of ill-faine, in Sprin4-gardens, Charing-cross. Mr, C. near tio years of age, went there, as had been his practice for Some time, to meet the object of his appointment , and a fter some ttnle was taken violently ill. In this state he continued, having every cordial ad. ministered that the hostess imagined would alfird relief, but in vain. The person it was known came Cron Lewisham, and enquiry was made of the drivers ot the stages to that place from Charing-cross, as to his connections. He was recognised by a man named Cross, and, at his desire, no time was lost in removing him to the Lord Cochrane, a public-house adjoining. Mr. Birch, surgeon, of New-street - , and several other medical gumtlemen, were called in, who concurred in opinion, that his death was inevitable, and which ensued about nine o'clock. The daughters cf the deceased arrived almost in time to witness the death of their parent, having been brought by the person who knew him. The feelings of the ymang ladies on this occasi can be conceived much better than expressed, particularly as the de , ...ea!,ei lett his family in the morning appa47:ntly in perfect health. Mr. C. lvid 11001. in his pocket at the tine of his death. A story was circulated of the daughters ot the deceased having discovered the situation of their father through the sagacity of a faithful dog, but is is without foundation.—On Thursday, a Coroner's inquest was held on the body, when the above circumstances were verified by Mt. Cross and the two medical gentlemen called in, who expressed their opinion that Mr. C. died of apoplexy.—Hannah Hyde, a servant at the hotel, deposed, that the deceased came to her mistress's house about a quarter beforeeleven o'clock on Monday morning, and that he complaine.l of indisposition in about hall an hour after li.s arrival she immediately called in an apothecary, and afterwards a physician. There was no person in the room with the deceased from time time he care till he was taken ill.—The Jury returned a verdii;t---DtEo a THL VISITATION or Goa: I