The Express.
London, England, 1863-12-11 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.-DERBV, Dec. 10.
THE WIGWRI.I. MURDER.

At ten minutes to two the Grand Jury returned • true
bill against George Victor Townley for murder.
Is the course of the day the grand jury ignored the bill
against James Clifford, of Bhardlow, Derby■hire, who was
charged with stealing, in or about the year 1804, one leaf
from the register of the parish of Longford. containing ea
entry of the baptism of William, sou of Mary Tallow, of
liendey, dated the Bth November, 1727, the property of the
then incumbent and churchwardens of the said parish of
Longford.
William Smith was charged with burglariously breaking
and ecteriog the dwelling-house of Francis Green Good-
win, and stealing therefrom one coat, two shirts, two
handkerchiefs and one telescope, the property of Captain
Goodwin. . . . . . .

Yr. Huuth prcwecuted, prisoner being undefended.
Prisoner, in defence, said he had been in London. and was
making his way to Wigwell to see the grave of his wife,
who bad been buried in his absence from home. He was
old, and could hardly get there. He then went from
Wigwell to Helper, and after being there two days, he met
a men in the street who asked him to purchase the anklet.
He bought them for 10e. He had no friend, and was per-
fectly destitute, bat innocent of the robbery. He had no
means to get any defence, and could not call any witnesses.
He was in his lordship's bands, and it mattered little what
was done with him since bas time was short. (Prisoner is
79 years of age.)
His Lordship summed up with his usual clearness and
minuteness. The jury found the prisoner Guilty.
Prisoner also pleaded guilty to a previous conviction.
His Lordship—Are you really 79?
Prisoner—On the Ist of June next I am.
Sentence deferred.

WESTERN CIRCIIIT.—EIETRR, Dec. 10.
(Before Mr. Baron Pigott.)
ALLEGID NUADEX.

James Sierens,• man of colour, 50 years of age, and de-
scribed as a pugilist, was indicted for the wilful murder of
John Mears, at Teigabridgo, near Newton Abbot, oo the
14th of August last ; and Join Burke, a labourer, 27 years
of age, was charged with haring aided and abetted in the
mid murder.

Mr. trold;worth and Mr. M. Bare were counsel for the
gemecution ; and the Khmers were defended by Mr. Carter.
The deceased, John Mean, wasa labourer 'arbor( at the
Hovey Tracy Potteries, situate about five or six miles from
Newton Abbot, in South Devon. He was about thirty-one
years of age, and was somewhat under the middle size. It
was Newton Abbot moss on the 13th end 14th of August
last, and on the former day the deceased left his lodgings to
go to the mom. He was seen on the ram-course by various
parties on the at terooon of the second day ; but he never re-
turned to hi■ lodgings. No particular search appeared to
have been made for him ; and it was not until more tams
a week after—the 21st of August—that he was again
seen. On thatday a gentleman out otter hunting near
the nOB-come saw a body lying in a pool under one of the
arches of a viaduct which ran along an old and unfrequented
road. It was taken out and conveyed to the lithos hotel,
adjoining, where it wan identified se the body of John
Mears. His face bore Eiger of rough treatment, and be had
evidently received some blows on the bead. The medical
gentlemen who made the post-mortem examisation found a
little extraverted blood between the scalp and the skull,
but their summation led them to the belief that death had
not resulted from the blows but from suffocation caused by
drowning. A coroner's inquest was held on the body,
and a verdict of wilful murder evilest some parties
was returned. The Secretary of State was oommuoicated
with, and be offend a reward for the morietion of the
parties. Thus the matter rested until the 21st of Septem-
ber—a month after the finding of the body—and then a boy
named George Pike, a chimney-sweep, made some commu-
nication to the housekeeper at Stover-home, the police
were appriesd of the substiusoe a/ it by the ►oy's grand-

father, and the prisionen were apprehended a day or two
after at Exeter. The boy Pike's evidence was in sabstance
as follows : —That he was at the Newton races on both days,
and paid frequent visits to a boxing booth which Stevens bad
on the course. Os the evening at the second day be saw the
deceased is the booth ; and after talking with Stevens sad
Burke (who was also there) for some time, Mean pat on
the gloves and bad a agar with Stevens. During the round
Mean gave the prisoner a blow on the shoulder, which ap.
;seared to have somewhat nettled Stevens, who told Mean
if he wanted to fight be was to follow him. The pair went
out together to the old Exeter-road, Burke accompanying
them. The boy Pike followed. Stevens and Mears fought
for some time. and Barks urged his companion to " pitch
it into him" (deceased), and to hit him behind the ear.
Stevens did so, and the doomed fell ; be threw up his arms,
and did not again move. Stevens then took Mean up endear.
ried to the bridge near, irut the body on the parapet, and
swung the body over the e into the water below. The
coloured man immediately let, and Baste, turning to the
boy Pike, gave him a penny. tailing him not to say anything
about it, and promising half the reward if any were offered.
For the • it was contended that the eviclesos of
the boy Pike was not to be relied oa. as he was known to
be given to lying; and several witnesses were celled to
prove an alibi.
The prisoners were Acqiitted.
NORTHERN CIRCIIIT.--Cazsris, Dcc. 9.
(Moire Mr. Justko Willis.)
TIM OTOOEPOIT POII3OKING CABs.
.

---
Alice Hewitt, alias Holt, was again *lied at the bar on
the charge of poisoning her mother, Mary Beam, at
Stockport.
Medical evidence was given to the effect that the symp-
toms of the deceased's illness were coesiatent with poisoning
by arsenic, and also to show that on a postmortem exami-
nation and analysis arsenic was found in large quantities.
Mr. Swetenham, for the defence, urged that the case
was entirely one of circumstantial evidence, and no-
thing more than one of strong suspicion. They
were asked to believe that while with on. hared
the prisoner fondled sod caressed her mother, with the
other she administered a deadly poison to her, and calmly
looked on her dying agonise. Did the prisoner's conduct
warrant that conclusion ? The charge was that, being poor,
the prisoner had insured her mother's life, end, in eager
haste to clutch the money, poisoned her nearest relative.
He commented on the evidence of the withares for the
praiscutior, especially the contradictory evidence of Bailey
and his wife. The whole story of the pork pies, be sub-
mitted, was an after-thought of Ann Bailey's. Mr. Ray-
nor's evidence showed that deceased was ill and vomiting
the day before the pia were bought. If the prisoner was
administering slow poison to her mother, was it probable
she would have actually gone and applied for
• medical order at the union'. When the pri-
soner said she was glad of her mother's d.r.1.%
that was not in accordance with the reserve which
characterise a murderess, nor did it agree with Ann Ryan's
evidence, which proved that the prisoner wept bitterly
on bearing of her mother's death. Again, not • word was
said by Ann Bayley before the coroner about the prisoner
Wilgto give her • black dress on the death of Mary
liehe would personate her mother before the insurame
agents and the doctor. With regard to the brandy, in which
it was alleged arsenic had been administered, he would ask
them to believe that the sediment was some ground root
which the prisoner had put in through kindness. Had blue
arsenic, coloured according to law, been put in, the sediment
would have been blue, notgingercolour. Thearsenic purchased
by the prisoner on the 25th was used in "dogging" the rooms ;
and might not some of the volatile poison have got into the
mouth of deceased and been swallowed. No doubt the
cause of death was poison, but was it absorbed by the body,
and if not, was there any proof that the prisoner admink.
tered it Deceased, before she died, drank largely of
milk. and might not that milk have been put in the jug
in which the amok was dissolved before sprinkling the
door, and that only through carelessness ? If arsenic was
found in the creek of • teacup, as was alleged by the
prosecution, how much the more readily could such a thing
ioccurred.
His Lordship, in summing up, said there were two
questions for the jury to consider. First, of what did Mary
Bailey die • Drat, who caused her death. The first question
was answered: by the medical evidence. The next was for
their coosideratioo. They must be perfectly satisfied that
the circumstances of the case were consistent with the guilt
of the prisoner. His lordship then recapitulated the
evidence, and remarked upon the practice of assurance
allow accepting insurances on lives in which the proposers
had no interest.

The jury retired. and at about 20 minutes' deliberation
returned • verdict of Guilty. On hearing the verdict the
prisoner fainted.
His Lordship assumed the black cap, and Famed sentence
of death in the usual form.

THE EXTRAORDINARY NAIL BAG ROBBERY
IN YORKSHIRE.

At the York Andrea, on Wednesday, Maria Cooke,
32, was indicted for having en the 25th of September, at
South Cave, stolen out of a post letter beg two orders, one
for the payment of 28/. 45., sod the other for the payment
of 35/. On the morning after the robbery, a merchants
clerk, named Douglas Mackintosh, met with the prisoner in
Whitefriargate, Hull. She went up to him and tithed
to get • cheque cashed for her. She produced an envelope
with a cheque in it, and after a little conversation he con-
muted to take it. He asked the prisoner where the bank
was, and she said "The Yorkshire Banking Company,
corner of Parliament-strost." Mackintosh went to that
bank with the cheque, which was for 281., and it was drawn
by Thomas Jackson. as North Shields, upon the National
Provincial Bank of England at Shields. On presenting the
cheque to the bank clerk, he refused to cash it, and Mackin-
tosh gave the cheque back to the prisoner. He also pointed
her out to two bank clerks who had followed him, and she
went into the bank with them. As her explanations were
unsatisfactory, she was conducted to the police-station in
Parliamentat•eee. and on her dress being searched, another
cheque for 35/. was found. On being asked where she bad
got the 28/. cheque from, she said a tall gentleman had
given it her in a second-class railway carriage as she was
coming from Heade the night before by last train.
Shortly afterwards a superintendent of police arrived from
South Cave, bringing intelligence that the mail-bag had
bees stolen from the post-office at that place on the previous
evening, and that the bag contained, amongst other letters,
one in which cheques were enclosed, amounting altogether
to 747/. 17s. 9d., the letter enclosing the cheques being
addressed to the Yorkshire Banking Company, Beverley.
The prisoner weir then formally charged with the robbery.
Evidence was given to show that on the evening of the day
on which the robbery was committed the prisoner rode in
a third-clam carriage from Ferriley Station, and that
during the journey it was not observed that anything wee
given to the prisoner, and that if there had been it must
have been seen. The mail bag containing the cheques had
been stolen from the home of Mr. Wm. Anson, post-
master, South Cave. He kept • grocer's shop as well as
post-office, and he placed the bag on the counter so as to be
ready by the time the mail cart mime up. Mrs. Anson
remained with the bag for some minutes, and then left the
shop for a short time. When she returned she found
the bag was gam. It was discovered coo the following morn-
ing EM) yards from the post-office, on the road to Brough,
with only three or four loose pipers io the bag. On the
evening of the robbery, some evidence was given to show
that • person like the priioner was in the neighbourhood of
the post-office at the time of the robbery. For the defence it
was stated that on the night in question, the prisoner
was coming from Hanle to Hull, when these two cheques
were given to her by a man in the railway carriage. The
jury, after having been absent nearly half an hour,
found the prisoner guilty.—His lordship mid he believed
the evidence had not only satisfied the jury, but every one
who had heard that evidence. It was of great importance
to preserve the integrity of the post-office, but there was
a mitigating circumstance in favour of the prisoner. She
had the opportnuity of taking or destroying the other
cheques, but she sent them eafely to their destination, re-
taining only two. That appeared to him to mitigate her
Case very much, it resolved itself into • PM of steal-
ing these two aquas, which to her had been unproductive,
and no loss had been entailed on anyone. The prisoner was
then sentenced to three years' penal servitude.