The Express.
London, England, 1851-08-02 00:00:00

CANNON O.

A special jury was sworn in this ease.
Mr. Serjeant Byles and Mr. Keane appeared for the
plaintiff; Mr. Andrews, (4.C., with whom was _Mr. Work '
ledge, represented the defendant.
This was an action of trover, brought by the plaint fl'
one of the ascignees of a bankrupt now deceased, o: the
name of Garnham, and who, in his lifetime, occupied a
farm at Roughant, near Bury St. Edmunds, to recover
front the defendant property of the value of between 7001.
' and Ma, which it was alleg.al hail been taken by the de-
fendant, to his own use, in liquidation of money due to him
from Garnham. The appropriation of the property in ques-
tion by the defendant was deemed a fraudulent preference,
thereby preventing the other creditors participating therein;
hence the present action.
The plaintiff was nor/suited on the understanding that a
motion he made in the court above relative to the question
of the alleged act of bankruptcy.
WESTERN CIRCUIT.—EXETER, Jel.Y 31.
QUM. BCFOitlt Ma. Jeri ■ C01..1.11.
CLIARGE or WILFUL MURDER.

This was the day fixed for the trial of Win. Rowe for the
murder of John Bunker, and the court was thronged with
people anxious to get a sight of the prisoner.
The trial lasted two days.
The clerk of arraigns delivered the abstract of the indict-
ment as follows :—" William Rowe, you arc indicted for
the wilful murder of John Bunker, at the parish of Brix-
ton, on the 4th of March last, by tying and fastening a rope
about his neck, thereby strangling and suffocating him."
There arc other counts in the indictment varying the
charge. Are you guilty or not guilty ?"
The prisoner, in a firm voice—Not at all guilty, my lord.
Mr. Collier, on the part of the crown, stated the case.
The deceased, John Bunker, was 18 years of age, and a
firm servant, living with a Mr. Rowe, a wealthy farmer of
Halwell Farm, in the parish of Brixton, in the county of
. Devon. Mr. Rowe has a house and farm-yard. In the farm-
yard opposite to the house is a stable, on the opposite
.ids of the yard where the carts arc kept. On the other
side of the yaral are some pent homes and shipper. Immedi- i
ately outside the yard runs the public road, and tothe right
of the road is an orchard called Pond Orchard. On the 7th
of March last, flanker, the deceased, got up at his usual
hour, was gent upon an expedition to carry lime, harnessed
his horses to the cart, lit his pipe, and proceeded on his
journey. Ile was at that time in perfect health. The
+ family of Mr. Rowe consisted of himself, an old man of 80
years of age, two sons, John and William, William being
the prisoner at the bar :. a daughter, Jane: a female ser-
vant, Hannah Couch; four boys—Bunker, 18 years old;
Vincent, 14 ; and two other little boys, James and Stevens,
10 years of age. Bunker started off at about a quarter
. before 6; between 10 and 11 o'clock he was found in the
r orchard, dead, stiff and cold. He was found tied to the
centre limb of the tree. A rope was fastened round his
• neck, and also round the branch by a single half-hitch
• knot. The knot rofink his neck was called a bowling knot.
Ile was found with both his legs on the ground—one under
the other, and resting on the ground, and both his hands
' on the ground. He was found in a sitting posture and
, almost, but not quite, touching the ground—and he was
: I stiff and cold, indicating that he had been suspended for
i *OW considerable time. His hands and legs were on the
ground, and it seems almost impossible for him to have
strangled himself without a very determined resolution to
keep-
his hands in front of him, for he had nothing to do'
' ' but put his bands on the ground and free himself from the
pressure of the rope. There was no fall from an height,
which might have dislocated his neck or produced sadden
insensibility. It is not likely or probable that he would
have been hung up higher and slipped down, for this was an
old apple tree, covered with moss, which shows where the
rope was tied round the branches, but which presents no in.
' ' dications of its having been tied higher up, and slipped down.
The crown of the boy's head was about a foot from the fork
. of the tree. The legs where he was hung hardly touched
the ground—one leg was under the other, the right leg
a little across the left leg; the right leg was lying upon
the ground, and the knees just touching the ground. The
. horse and cart were found fastened to a gate in the road
near the orchard. The boy's cap and whip were found
at a little distance from the tree. Some blood was seen
on his hand and also on his temple, where there was a
1 severe blow, such as would have been produced by a fist,
and would have produced insensibility. There were marks
of two or three other blows on his body. There were
patches of road dirt on the knees of his trowsen and on
his hands, indicating that he had been down on his hands
and knees. The grass in the orchard was short and would
not receive the print of footsteps, or make any dirt upon
the clothes. The apple tree was covered with moss. There
was the mark of a rope round the centre limb and also
r.luad the fork of the tree. The mom indicated that on
the side of the tree where Bunker's body was found the
mme seemed to have been pulled upwards, and on the oppo•
site aide to have been pulled downwards. There were some
excresc.snces, or " nobs," on the tree, to which human
hair like that of the deceased was found attached.