The Express.
London, England, 1863-09-23 00:00:00

THE HEDINGHAM WITCHCRAFT CASE.

Yesterday Emma Smith, aged 96, and Samuel
Stammers, 2s, were brought up before the beach at Quads
Hedingham, and committed, isbarged with haribg causal
the death of a poor old Frenchman, who was called Dummy.
by putting him into a brook, when already suffering from a
severe illness. . .

-----
The female prisoner was the wife of • beenthoorkeeper in
therillage of Ridgwell, about six miles from Hadingbans,
and Stammers a muter carpenter in a small way of kmeinses.
It was a somewhat iingular fact that nearly all of the 60 or
70 person' concerued in the outrage which resulted in the
death of the deceased man were of the small tradesman
elms, and that none of the agricultural labourers were
mixed up in the affair. It is also stated that nom of
those Lengaged were iu auy way under the influease of
liquor.
The victim of this superstition was deaf and dumb, and
his age was supposed to have been about 86 years. Being
unable to express himself, and being of a somewhat vivo-
ciouedimposition, he wasaccustomed to make use of energetic
and somewhat grotesque gestures, which caused him to be
regarded with conaidenaile awe. He lived alone in •
wretched hut. Who he was, or whence be came, could not
be ascertained. For the last seven or eight yours he had
resid.d in Sib's Hediogham, and previous to that be lived
in Braintree. There is little doubt that he pined hL
living to a great extent by telling fixtures, if not by prie
teace to witchcraft. Some hundreds of scraps of paper
were found by the polies in his hut after has death, and
upon most of them were written questions, which neither in
the style nor their subject matter say much for the enlight-
enmeot of the district. The following are fair samples :
" Her husband have loft her moony yrs and she want to
know weather he is dead or alive." " What was the reams
my sun do not right i meen that Bolger." "Do you charge
any more I" The answer to this query was doubtless satis-
factory, for this momentous question was the" put, " Shall
l ever marry ?" Love letters from girls to their sweet-
hearts were also found, with "Shall I marry r and " How
many children shall I haver written in pencil on them,
The most businesslike of all the notes was the curt one,
_ .

" Did you say we Kild your Dog. If you did I will send
for the policeman." Nor were his patrons altogether nos.
fined to the lower orders. Owe letter states that the lady
was "comers herself on Monday to see yoo, and she gave you
oil them things and the shillen."
In the hovel were found, bedded, between 400 mad 500
walking sticks, a quantity of umbrellas, some French Woke,
• number of tin boles, • bag of foreign coins, chiefly of the
French empire, and about • ton of rubbish which it wee
found impossible toelassify in the inventory that was takes.
The most definite ideas about the men have been suggested
by the following questions which haVe been found writteu
seriatim on a scrap of paper :—" Were you born at Paris?"
„The name of the town where you were born !" " Where
was your tongue cut out?" "Le nom de volt' vibe!" The
answers were no doubt made by signs.
The evidence was substantially • repetition of that already
reported before the corooor's inquest. At its close
The Chairman maid that the bench had resolved to send
both prisoners for trial at the nett assizes. The primmer
EMMA Smith was them formally asked what she had to say.
She replied i, a peculiar voice that she would tell the
truth. The man had come to her house first. He spat upon
her, and told her that afters time she should be ill, and she
was iIL A doctor came to her twice in one night, but could
not cure her. The man Dummy came to her shop ten mouths
ago and asked leave to sleep iu her shed. She let bim, bet
in a few days, when she wanted him to leave, he made signs,
and wrote on • door, that she should be ill in tee days.
Be made her ill, sod bewitched her, ad she west every-
where but no one could set her right eggs. She was afraid
no medicine could do her any good.
The Chairman—Are you aware of the nature of the charge
against you, that you caused the death of the old man by
your conduct on the 3rd of August!
The prisoner—That night I went to the Swan very bed.
I went up to the old gentleman and asked him to go home
with me to do me good. He said he would not go. Gibson
took him op and put him in my face, and told him to kiss
me, but I did not want to do that as I Ind a husband of
my own. A Dumber of plaits?, a.f straw for bonnets came
in and raid, " How bed this woman is." There were forty
or fifty people there, few of them men. They got him out.
Some shoved him, some pelted him with mud, and did more
to hem than I did. I begged and prayed that he would go
home with me, but lie shouted he would not unless he
liked. Idu not deny that I put my hand to his head, but
I was so bed I could not lift • dog, and this moo here
(Stammers) took him by the heels and thighs and threw
him in the water, and then be (Stammers) jumped in and
got him out. 1 may die any moment, there was only toe
there whodid touch him, and that was Mrs. Brutz, who
said she was afraid of him. That is the truth.

Stammers simply said be was trot guilty.
The Chairman said it was a fearful sad a disgraceful
fact that at the present day an old and mutilated man
should meet with such a fate, and that no one of all the
crowd of men and women present should have interfered to
save him, or even have told the police of what was going
forward. The prisoners stood committed to Chelmsford
goal for trial at the March assizes.
Bail was accepted afterwards for Stammers, himself in3o/.
and two securities for 601. each. Similar bail would have
been taken fur the female prisoaer, but as it could nut be
procured she was conveyed to prison.

DEATH PROM BAD BRLINAGL—Last evening
Mr. Humphreys held an inquest at Bethnal-green, respecting
the death of Saab Ward, aged one year. George Ward, of
No. 10, Holly Bush-place, Bethnal-grows-road, a shoemaker,
said that the deceased was his daughter. They lived in one
room, and there were eight families in the same building.
Witness had five in family, and there were six persons
in each room. Several of the rooms were divided into par-
titions, and opposite the house was a large cowshed, where
there were 60 cows The house was only sight yards from the
cowshed, and the vffluvium was terrible. Had beard pigs being
killed frequently. The drainage was very bad, and the cess-
pools were daily overflowing into the yards. Sometimes they
could not get tato the yard for the soil. There was also an
open gutter in front of the house, which was poisonous to the
inhabitants, who complained of the smell. Three children
had died in the same house, which bad several entrances.
The deceased was taken ill on Saturday, and died the same
day. The jury ultimately found the following special
verdict, " That the deceased, Sarah Ward, being an infant
of tender age, died from blood poisoning through the inhala-
tion of impure atmosphere, and the jury cannot separate
without requesting the coroner to write to the chairman of
the vestry at the Town-hall, calling their attention to the
neglect of Mr. Morris, the inspector of nuisances, to the
place in question, which was prejudicial to the health of the
tebabitante."
SERIOUS ACCIDRNT FROM A &BRET ORGAN.—

On Monday morning. Mr. Swaim, of the Minerva Tavern,
Birmingham, was driving in a light trap down Barr-street
West, accompanied by his son and daughter. On nearing
the end of Barr-street, Mr. Swann perceived a man "grind.
icg" at au organ in the road, and knowing the character of
the animal he was driving, • spirited little posy, he
motioned several times to the man to desist. The performer
however continued his music, and the potty taking fright at
the sound, dashed at an alarming speed into New dolma
street. Aware that there was no thoroughfare across that
street, Mr. Swann tried to turn the pony along it,
but the impetus acquired was too great to be so
diverted. and the vehicle being suddenly checked
by coming into contact with the kerbstone, its oo-
cupants were thrown out by the shock. Mr. Swann,
who is • stout, heavy man, was hurled violently against
the window of a house facing Barr-street, and received
some severe injuries on the face from the broken glass, the
lower part of the window being completely smashed. His
son escaped with a few contusions. but Mire Swann received
a severe bruise on the forehead. Neither the pony nor the
vehicle received any material injury. Mr. Swann was as
soon as possible put into • cab and conveyed to the General
Hospital, where his wounds were dressed by Mr. Bracey,
the house surgeon. He was then taken to his own home and
pot to bed, and was shortly afterwards visited by Mr.
Cheshire, the family medical adviser, who toyed that Mr.
Swann was very severely bruised about the body, is addi-
tion to the injuries to his head and tam It is not yet
known if he bas received any internal hara—Birstileptem
Gazette.
WHOLE:BALE SMUGGLING AT POITSMOOTIL—At
the Falmouth Borough Police-court yesterday (Tuesday)
Frances Bouldon, the wife of • seaman belonging to the
Royal yacht Victoria and Albert was charged with unship-
ping., or being concerned in unthipping, 3lighs. weight of
foreign manufactured Cavendish tobacco, and 21bs. weight of
cigar.. Mr. Graham, from the office of the *disbar to the
Customs, was present to conduct the preseeution • and Mr.
Field, of &sport, solicitor, appeared on behalf of the de-
fendant. From the evidence it appeared that two am
arrived at the railway station at Landport by express train
from London, directed to " Mr. B. dame, No. 2, Cliftoria
street Landport. Frallon" (the horse of the defendant),
and they were delivered as directed by • porter named
Mitchell, who asked the defendant if it was right that the
cases should be left there. She replied, " Yee, it is quite
right ; I expected these boxes, but I did not expect
I them quite so soon as tide.* The same evening
Police-constable Pack, and Within' Robinson, chid
boatman at the coastguard station west to the defendant's
house, and asked for the two eases. She replied that she
had not received any, but upon the taken searching the
house, the packages were found in the kitchen, and the
defendant then rendered mistime in opening them, and
they were found to contain the co:Armband starer as above
stated, and were, of course, seized. The defame was that
the cases were delivered there for another person, and that
the defendant was ignorant of theiroontenta. Mr. Field urged
that there was no proof of • guilty knowledge, but the
magistrates were of • different opinion. and convicted the
defendant in the full penalty of 2641. 12e., with costa, but
recommended • mitigation of the penalty to one-fourth, and
in default of payment sentenced the defendant to be im-
prisoned until the penalty be paid.
•

- - -
[Advertisement. JIOLLOWAY'II PILLS. INDI-
- all eases of hullgeetion, maturing weariness, low
spirits, palpitation, and feverlahneas. I famous pills should
be resorted to as the gentlest and surest corrective of She
stomach, and the hest antidote to ita These pills dis-
pel the curse of dyspepsia . everyone afflicted with it may rejoice
at the Lee awl adasfactory results which can be secured at eo
small a charm, as the purchase of a boa of Holloway'. pills. The
purify, strengthen, and remedy imperfect development of growth
sail health in young persona Thousands of sufferers, who
casually commented a course of Holloway's pills, have admiral
their restoraUve power over themselves, and afterwards recom-
mended them with a becoming conlldeuce which has never been
betrayed.