The Express.
London, England, 1847-12-16 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, THURSDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 16. 1847.

. for the

last wanes on the plea of insanity, was iadicted for the
murder of Joseph Speed, his infant son.—Mr. Pollock, in
opening the can for the prosecution, detailed the circum-
stances, which are of the most melancholy charac-
ter. The prisoner, who is a factory operative, resided
in Lord street, Hahne (Manchester), and from the want of
employment was at the time of the murder in deep
distress. The prisoner, his wife, and two children
occupied the lower Dail of a house, the upper part
being untenanted. Os the night of Saturday the 31st
of July, the prisoner's wife had gone out, and returned
about nine o'clock. A quarrel between ber husband and
herself would then appear to have ensued, for the attention
of the neighbours was shortly afterwards arrested, terns=
were heard, and the wife rushed out with her hair dis-
hevelled, and her face covered with blood. She ran for pro-
tection into the house of a neighbour opposite, and was re-
ceived with kindness. While the prisoner's wife was in this
house the attention of another neighbour was directed to the
prisoner's house ; and he saw the prisoner draw the blind partly
arida, and apparently watch the proceedings acmes the street.
This was conduct such as could reasonably be expected from
*person in the possession of his senses. Marks of blood
.
were „I"„sged; found noon tae blind. prVerlee locked
I the door, and came into the house where his wife was, to
leave the key. He was told that blame was attached to him
for wounding his wife, and was n quested to go for a doctor.
He went out, but instead of seeking a medical man pro-
ceeded to a police station to give himself up. He stated that
he had committed a rub act ; and when raked what it was,
he replied that he had murdered his wife and two children.
The statement unfortunately was to a great extent true.
The wife has since recovered, but the two children were
found dead. After a caution by the policeman, be further
stated that his wife and he had quarrelled—that he had
struck her on the bead with a hammer (a hammer
stained with blood was afterwards found in the house)—that
she went across the street, and that he then took a razor
from the cupboard and cut his children's throats. The wife
was taken back to her residence by her neighbours, and her
wounds deemed. But it was not till some time afterwards
that the full extent of the prisoner's offence was known. On
the bed clothes being turned down the two children with
their throats cut were found weltering in their blood, warm,
yet quite dead. A razor stained with blood was afterwards
found in t to cupboard, from which it bed been taken.—Mr.
Pollock said he must admit there was much in the prisoner's
=dingo, up to and before the unfortunate event,
wh ch might drive him to great desperation. He
had had no work for some time previous, and the
neighbours, though poor themselves, had two or three
times interposed to save the family from starvation.
On the very day. before the murder the wife had parted
with a slight article of furniture to purchase bread. The
question was, did this distress lead the man into each a state
of mind that he could not distinguish between right and
wrong ? —The neighbours of the prisoner were the first
witnesses called. They stated that the prisoner and
his wife had lived on good terms; that he ap-
peared to be a kind husband and father; and was
honest and industrious when he had work to do.—
Mr. Gotland, surgeon, of Manchester, visited the prisoner
the same day the offence was committed, to teat his state of
mind, and remained in coaversation with him above half-an-
hour. The prisoner's observations and replies appeared to
him to be consistent, and quite rational. The prisoner told
him that he was sometimes without food fur 24 hours toge-
ther, and that on the morning in question he had a severe
headache when he arose, but it was better when this con.
ference took place, in the afternoon.—Mr. T. Chalmer, jun.,
surgeon to the Kirkdale gaol, in which the prisoner has
been confined since August last, said he believed the prisoner
during all the time he was there to be of sane mind.—
Mr. Bowler addressed the jury on beh.lf of the prisoner, and
ca'le I a witaeas to pr ve that a half-brother of the prisoner
died in a lunatic asylum, at Lancaster, n 1843.—Mr. Pollock
' having replied, Mr. Justice Coltman summed up.—The jury
' retired at half-past 2 o'clock, and in 20 minutes returned
' with a verdict of Guilty. —The learned judge then passed
sentence of death in the usual way, holding out not the least
' hope of a commutation of the punishment.—The prisoner,
who wept during Mr. Pollock's recital of the circumstances
of the melancholy occurrence, received the sentence with ap-
-1 parent ind ffereace, end was removed from the dock.

Ballantine: The pris our was given In charge for stealing a
watch, and he said " Prev forgive me ; I was tempted to do
it." I asked him who had tempted him, and he replied i:
was no person, but a voice, which said "Do it, do it, you
will not be found out."
W. Devonshire, one of the turnkeys of Newgate, deposed
that the prisoner was in his charge in the gaol. On the 22nd
of November he asked fee pens, tok, and paper, which were
furnished to him, and he afterwards found the paper pro-
duced in his cell. This was written after he had had an in-
terview with the ordinary.
Mr. Ryland said he should now propose to read the letter
referred to, which, after some discussion, was agreed to. It
was as follows .
My dear Mother,—As you cannot come to see me, I hope you will
writs to me, and tell me what I ought to do to get forgivenens for
whet I have does, for I knew that I hare sinned against God, and
deserve to be sant into boil; but what is my enlycomfort la the Bible,
he our Lord says, If you repent, I will farm you. Therefore, I will
hops for forgivenees, for I will put on a fresh cloak, and I will mat
use oat I limo pt on off my back. and though my situ be as scarlet
dell be white as meow. I will cast off all my evil ways, and put
on Mr. Davis lead me that if I did not woken what I have
doss OMI would set forgive me, and every use was sure I bad dose
Lt, and be told me I had better °mikes It to you, and be told me
.I.ust
wedo,l4 ths •Irldel ore I+4 vom .11••••1 I
my soul go so.
Mr. Delimiting here interposed, and said, it occurred to
him that upon this representation made by the prisoner as to
the inducement held out to him by the reverend ordinary,
that that irentleman ought to be called as a witness, in
order to ascertain whether such an inducement had been
held out to the prisoner to make the statement as would
render it inadmissible.
The Rev. Mr. Davis was sworn, and said—On Sunday,
the 21st of November, the prisoner heard me preach twice.
It is part of my duty, by order of the Court of Aldermen, to
communicate to the prisoners any important matter in
which they are interested, such as an order for execution, a
reprieve, or a pardon. The prisoner at first was committed
upon a harge of stealing a watch ; but at this time the coro
ner's warrant had been lodged at the gaol, charging him
with the crime of wilful murder, and it became my. duty to
inform him of the fact, which I did, and gave him some
general instructions with regard to his religious exercises,
and no doubt I told him that he could not expect forgive-
ness from God unless he confessed his sins. I did not tell
him that I believed he had done it, or that it would be
better for him to confess to his mother ; neither did I ask
him where he expected his soul would go to, if he were to
be struck dead, and his statement that I dii so ia entirely the
imagination of his own mind.
[The reading of the letter was then proceeded with.]
'Therefore, dear mother, I have no one to blame but mynah. If I
had only attended to what you were teaching me I should not bare
come Into snob a place; but Satan bad got so much power over me.
I bad two drams this night. I will tell them to you. I dreamed
that if I did not sagas what I had done Gal would met me into
hell ; and if I did costes it, God would forgive me, and it I turned
away from my wickedness, God would take me to hearer when I died. 1
And num tried to make me not coofees, sad mid if I did contest I
should be cast into hell; but I turned away from bim and said .1
will confer, or else God will not forgive me; and I mean to turn
away from my wickedness ." and then I awoke. I now coulees that
I have done what lam accused of. On the 20th of October (rand-
father went to his desk for tee key of the wine-cellar, to get some
wine op and to look over his accounts; and whilst he was goose I took
the same out and emptied some of it is another paper, and put the
rest back, and then, after dinner, I put it into the maga, basin. I did
it become whet I had made grandfather angry with something I had
dose he knocked me down In the passage, and my head went up
Viththe table and hurt it very much, and he said the next time I
e would almost kill rue. But in foture I will say the truth,
and nothing else but the truth. With tenderest love to you and to
you all at home, believe me ever your affectionate sop, WlLthan
Newsom Atuirrer.
Mr. M'Xiiirdo, the surgeon of the gaol of Newgate, said he
had seen and conversed with the prisoner almost daily since
he had been in the gaol, and he never observed anything in
his conduct to induce him to believe that he woe not of sound
mind or capable of distinguishing between right and wrong.
This closed the case for the prosecution.
Mr. Ballantine then sddreesed the jury for the prisoner,
and said that, in the first place, he should contend the the
evidence was not sufficient to justify the jury in finding a
child twelve year of age guilty of the horrible crime with
which he was charged, and that the letter which he had
written ought not to have any weight in their minds, be-
cause it was quite clear that, although the rev. ordinary of
the gaol might not in any way have exceeded his duty, yet
it was exceedingly probable that a child like the prisoner
might have misunderstood the effect of his observations, and
have been induced to make such a statement in the hope of
',seeping punishment. The learned counsel argued that the
whole conduct of the prisoner, even if they should come to
• the conclusion that he was guilty of committing the act .of
poisoning his grandfather, showed that he was not in such a
state of mind as to be accountable for his actions ; and be
should produce testimony which would strengthen that
im-
pression, and he had no doubt would induce the jury to re-
turn a verdict to that effect.

Mr. E. H. Payne deposed that he was of the medical
profession and brother-in- law to the father of the prisoner,
who wos quite mad for two months before ho died ; and on
several occasions before was in the same state. Hi, grand-
father also suffered from paralysis, and two of his sisters
were blind from nervous disease connected with the brain.
He bad attended the prisoner medically, and knew that he
suffered from scrofula • and from the knowledge he had'
acquired respecting him, and which ho had heard connected
with this case, he was of opinion that at the time he com•
witted the act he was partially insane and incapable of
distinguishing between right and wrong.
Mr. Croucher, surgeon to the Berks county gaol, said he
attended the prisoner when he was 18 months old for the
injury he received from falling on the plouglishere. It was '
a very severe injury and was calculated to affect his brain. '
Dr. Dewsbury said he was a physician, and resided at
Clapton. The prisoner was brought to him by his mother
several times during the months of March, April, and May,
of the present year. The prisoner was suffering from indi-
gestion and scrofula in a marked degree. He was told at
that time that the prisoner was in the habit of walking in
his sleep, and also ishrieking while asleep; and from his
knowledge of the state of his health and all the other cir-
cumstances of the case, he was of opinion that when this
matter occurred the prisoner was not in a sound state of
mind. _ .

Dr. Conolly, the physician to the Hanwell Lunatic
Asylum, said that front the evidence he had heard in this
case he was of opinion that the prisoner was of nneound mind.
He should say that his brain was diseased, and he considered
that as be advanced in life his insanity would beoeme more
apparent, but he was of opinion that he would exhibit it
more by a deranged conduct than a derangement of intellect.
Mr. Baron Rolfe then proceeded to sum up the case to the
jury, and he said it was one of a very important character,
not only as regarded the nature of the oharge, and the con-
sequences that might result to the prisoner, hut also with re-
gard to the defence that had been set up, which was one that,
when it rested upon alight grounds, if juries did not put a
check to, might be attended with very disastrous results.
The witnesses called for the defence had described the pre
saner as acting from uncontrollable impulse ; and they had
made other statements, of the value of which it would be
flee the jury to decide ; but he must say that it was his opinion
that such evidence ought to be scanned by juries with very
great jealousy and suspicion, because it might tend to the
pietism justification of every crime that was committed. What
was the meaning of not being able to resist moral influence ?
Peery crime was committed under an influence of such a
ibeertption, and the object of the law was to compel persons
is control these influences, and if it was made an excuse for
• person who had committed a crime that he had been
to it by some impulge which medical men might
to say he could not control, he must observe that leek
a liastalse would bo fraught with very great danger to the
Interest of society.
Thejnry retired at half-past 6 o'clock, and returned Into
court in a quarter of an hour, when they gave a verdict of
Guilty, but at the same time earnestly recommended the
prisoner to mercy on account of his tender age. The prisoner
upon hearing the verdict became dreadfully agitated, and it
was necessary for one of the turnkeys to support him.
Mr. Baron Rolfe, after a short interval, addremed the pri-
soner, and said that after a very full and attentive consi-
deration of his case, the jury had come to the conclusion,
and he rejoiced that they had done so, that he was guilty of
the horrible crime laid to his charge. Let him not be mill-
understood as to the reason why he rejoiced at their coming to
so painful a declaim. The reason he rejoiced was that the
jury had not shrunk from the discharge of a duty which
men of weaker minds might have recoiled from, and that
' they had not returned a verdict which they felt their con-
sciences would not sanction. The jury had treated the
defence of insanity that had been set up in his behalf as
trifling with their judgment ; they felt that he knew but too
well that the set he committed was one that would
send his grandLther to the grave. The attempt to esta-
blish his insanity was made in order to induce the jury is
swerve from the strict p‘th of duty. This was a defense
which wee frequently made, and which was too
often a , and he rejoiced that the jury had
thrown to Se triads the idle sophistry by which the
41•11 es• was met to be made out on the present
*emenisee:,,se= accompanied their verdict by a
sus Inzomey, which was one in cases of MUT.
1/1.610001.4111:1111Et instance, he had never felt
bbarifjaiMei la any attention to. In this case,
barever, be iambi Ow to that reeotomendation, and,
gekliag into coadaseadea the youth of the prisoner and his
meat at experienat, be should feel himself warranted in
mommesoding that his life should be spared. At present
sistessi at death meat be recorded, but he would take care
that tin tearameadatioa of the jury and his own should be

laid at the foot of the throne, 'idiom alone the power of
mercy existed. He must, however, understand that if any
remission of the sentence was granted, it would not be from
any belief that be was not In a sound state of mind, but
solely for the reasons that had been stated, and he must
expect, if his life should be spared, to pass the whole of the
remainder of it in ignominy and dbgrace.
The prisoner was then removed Irom the bar.

POLICE.—YESTERDAT.
M A RLBOROUGR-STREET .—Ennizzienarrr.-17.
But, was charged with having embezzled several sums
of money belonging to his employer, Mr. J. Rood, feather
end feather-bed merchant, —J. P. Builder said he paid tke
prisoner 71. 6s. 4{l. on account of his mast4r.— W. Charles,
carman, said he received 17s. front Mr. Groom, of Fleet-
street, for Mr. Rood, and paid that rum over to the pri-
soner.-11. Love, collecting clerk to Mr. Rood, said he
called on Mr. Crighton, of King-street, fora bill of IL 7s. a,
aced was informed that the money had been paid to the pri-
soner.—The prisoner admitted he had received the amount
and had not accounted for it —Margaret Ivory proved that
she paid the prisoner 19s. for his employer.—Mr. Rood said
the prisoner had been many years !TIM* service, and in the
service of his father. It was tint prisoner's duty to pay over
the sums he received, and for them sums he had not ac-
counted fee.—The prisoner was fully oommitted.
SOITTRWA.RX..—Tati SANITARY CONDITION OP Sr.
GlOllol.ll.—Onsolthe ohaiithafrustans of St. George., South-
wark, attended by,lba glieenrcg the pariah, *stud before
Ms% Olnithliffat • VI ).**l..ern ;rift eadetaaas to rumen a
ashouree rehash we* Oreafbar pride:ace moue the bahalk•
taste.—The chorahwaides laid that about a month ego he

waited upon his worship to request his advice how to remove
a number of poor families from 'several dilapidated houses in
a court near the back of St. George's Church. The houses
contained about seven rooms each, and as many so eighteen
existed in each, most of them is the most destitute
and filthy condition. la the rooms, heaps of filth and putrid
matter were piled up ; the boards of the floors had been
burnt. According to the advice of his worship they gave
them notice to leave the houses, but numbers refused to leave
although other homes were offered. The state of the court
had oome under the notice of the sanitary commissioners,
who had directed the people to leave their filthy and un-
healthy places of abode but they refused.—Mr. Cottinghaas
said that he would readily mist the parish in removing such
a nuisance, and should direct one of the officers of that court
to communicate with the inmate, and inform them that, un-
less they quickly left, force would be used to eject them.—
One of the warrant officers of the court was directed to carry
out the magistrate's order.
BZNETOLINCII.—The magistrate begs to acknowledge the
receipt of a 61. Bank of England note, from " U. V.," for
the poor-box of the polite court.