The Express.
London, England, 1862-11-01 00:00:00

THE MURDER IN THE CITY.

(Concluded from yesterday's Express.)
The jury retired at half-peat four o'clock to deliberate
upon their verdict. At six o'clodelthey returned into court,
and the foreman of the jury gave the verdict of Guilty,
but he said, at the same time, that they were desirous of
recommending the prisoner strongly to mercy, on the
ground that they believed that after the prisoner and his
wife went up to bed on the Sunday night they had bad a
quarrel about the girl Humbler, and that the act was com-
mitted in a fit of anger.
Mr. Hemp, the deputy-clerk of arraigns, then inquired of
the prisoner, with the usual form, whether he had
pmi anything
to say why judgment of death should not be upon
him.
The prisoner, who during the whole time the learned
judge was summing up, stood leaning upon the front of the
dock with his hands chirped and his eyes upturned, as
though engaged in prayer, immediately addressed the court
in a firm clear solia and said, "I can safely declare upon
my word and honour that lam as innocent of my wife's
death u an unborn babe, or of knowing anything about it.
Any man who could destroy the life of his wile, with his
own flesh and blood in her body, hanging is too good for
him. I swear before God that lam innocent of this crime ;
it is not in my instinct to do such • thing—l could not do
it for the world. There is a greater Judge than your lord-
ship, who knows all. I fear Him more then any earthly
judge, and I thank God I have not got this crime to
answer for."

Chief Baron having put on the black cap pro-
ceeded to pass sentence upon the prisoner. He said that he
had been convicted of the crime of wilful murder, upon the
person of his wife, on the 13th of September. That she
had died by an act of violence the evidence did not leave the
smallest doubt, and the proposition that she did not destroy
herself appeared to him to be almost as clearly established.
It also scarcely required the sinistance and aid of me-
dical skill to be enabled to form the conclusion that after
the act of viotenoe had been committed the body had been
placed in an artificial position, so as to create a belief that
the deceased had destroyed herself. He entertsioed no
doubt from the evidence that the murder must have been
committed either on the Sunday night or the Monday
morning, and it appeared equally clear that the deed most
have been dose by himself or the young woman Humbler.
Some of the observations that had been made by the learned
counsel who had defended him so ably were undoubtedly
entitled to attention, particularly when he urged the abeam*
of a motive for the commission of the crime. It certainly
was difScult to ascribe any motive either for the act of
suicide milts commission of murder, but at the saes time it
was certainly squall > difficult for any one to tame to the
opinion that, upon the evidetios, the jury had sot arrived
at a right conclusion. They bad accompanied their verdict
with a recommendation to mercy, and they assigned as
a roma for the recommendation their balist that it
wee probable that after he sod his wife had retked to their
bedroom on the Sunday night, • quarrel or diesgresmest
took piece betwees them, on accoast el the gift Humbler,

and that the act might have been committed in the course
of that quarrel. With respect to this girl, he thought he
might say without any hesitation, so far as the allege.
tion that she was concerned in the murder, that there was
no case against her upon which any jury would have been
warranted in finding her guilty. He (the learned judge)
had therefore felt it hie duty to protect him from what roust
have been the consequence if they had been jointly tried,
namely, that, in addition to the direct evidence against him,
he would have been seriously prejudiced by the
counsel for the young woman Humbler, an he would
in all probability have been compelled to do, charging him
with the murder, and showing that he alone was the person
who committed it, in order to save her from the chance
of being consiaed. The learned 'edge then said that he
would take care that the recomm to mercy wee for.
warded to the only quarter where any effect could be given
to it, but taking into consideration the nature of the crime
be did not feel himself justified in holding out any aspects.
tion that it would have effect. He then pared the awful
sentence of death upon the prisoner in the usual terms.
The • when the learned judge had concluded,
spin 'him, and said, "My lord, I should say that
any man who was guilty of such a crime as this ought to
have no weerey."
He wee then removed from the bar still protesting his
innocence.