The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-12-02 00:00:00

THE BRIGHTON POISONING CASE.

On Monday, before Mr. Justice Lush, in Chambers,
an application was heard to show cause against a rule
obtained in the Court of Queen's Bench on Saturday
loot, en behalf of Miss Edmunds, to remove the trial
of the charge against her for poisoning from the ensu-
ing Limerick Assizes to the Central Criminal Court.
Serjeant Parry and Mr. Wonsley appeared for the
prisoner, against whom a very decided bias appears to
prevail in the neighbourhood of her alleged crimes, and
who. was recently burnt in effigy • and Mr. Straight
for the prosecution. Mr. ,very, clerk of arraigns at
the Central I 'riminal Court, was in attendance in ac-
cordance with the provisions of the Act under which
the applici.tti...n was
.male—namely, that commonly

known as l'almer'A Act, paseed fourteen yeare ago, to
enable the trial of the Rugeley poinoner to be removed
from Stafford to the ( )hl

In reply to affidavits which had been filed, Mr.
Straight urged that they disclosed no sufficient ground
for the Court to accede to the application. Assuming
the paragraph in the affidavits relating to the burnin,,
of Miss Ednamilii in effigy at Lewis to be well founded,
it must be well known to his lordship that the panel
for the county of Sussex extended over the whole area
of that county, and was taken from districts that in
no way included either the towns of Brighton or
Lewes.
Mr. Justice Lush intimated that there were other
grounds.
M. Straight supposed his lordship referred to the
paragraph speaking if the publication if photographs
of Miss Edmunds, labelled underneath, "The Brighton
Poisoning ('see." In Opening the application he could
not help urging upon his lordship that each case of this
sot formed a precedent, mid it Ceold hardly be need
that such reasons as those set forth could be considered
sufficient to adopt a course which had been so rarely
rub naffed by the Judges. It would involve the prmiticu-
tm in very considerable difficulty and expense ; anal it
was obvious, from one of the affidavits tiled on Miss
Edmund's behalf, that no condition could be imposed
upon berm- her friends or contribute too-arils the cast of
the prosemtion. As to the photographs, the same ob-
jection might take in reference to the trial of the Rev.
Mr. Watson, and it might be urged that his ease ought
to be removed from the Central Criminal Court. as
photographs of hhn were largely exhibited. At the
same time, he (Mr. Straight) felt that the real point of
the application was the procession which hail taken
place at Lewes, and, representing the authorities of
Brighton, whose only wish was that a thoroughly im-
partial trial should take place, he had no desire tin press
the matter if his lordship thought that the case was one
in which the application might be reasonably granted.
Mr. Justice Lush said that when the application was
made on Saturday he and his colleagues had felt that
it was one which ought to be granted, and in now ac-
ceding to the removal of the case to the Central
Criminal Court he wished it tobe understood that it was
the unanimous opinion of himself and his learned
brethren that it should be Rs removed. The bill
would have to be inresentedto the Grand Jury at Lewes
at the ensuing Assizes.
Mr. Straight said that the case would have to be
fixed for the January Sessions at the Central Criminal
Court; and it was arranged that this should be done.
As the matter at present rests, the prisoner will, if
the Grand Jury at Lewes find a true bill against her,
be rennweil tin Newgate early in January, and her
case will come on at the sessions of the Central Crimi-
nal Court, which commences on the Bth of January,
1872.