The Express.
London, England, 1853-07-21 00:00:00

CHIRON OP )(ORDER.

Sarah Smith, 43, was indicted for the wilful murder of
Stephen Smith.
Mr. HOlll. and Mr. Attu, conducted the prosecution.
Mr. Hurst defended the prisoner.
It appeared that the deceased was a shoemaker, and the
prisoner was his wife, and they occupied a small room in a !
place called Harrow's Mews, St. Leonard's. The evidence'!
went to show that they were both given to drink, and that!
they frequently quarrelled. On the evening of the 17th of
May, which was Whit Tuesday, they were together at the
Queen Adelaide public-house at Hastings, and left about
eleven o'clock at night, and at this time they appeared to
be on friendly terms, but were both to some extent in,
liquor. On the following morning, about one o'clock, a
lodger in the house named Cook was awoke by the prisoner,
who begged her, for God's sake, to get up, as she said she
bad stabbed " Steen," meaning her husband. Mrs. Cook
immediately got up and went into the prisoner's room,
where she saw the deceased man sitting in a chair, with a
wound in his breast, from which the blood: was
flawing. He was alive, but unable to speak, and!
be was holding an apron to his breast, while the prisoner
was walking about the room trying. Mrs. Cook, seeing
the state of the deceased, went out to fetch Mr. Gardner, •
surgeon, and upon their returning together to the room!
they found the prisoner still these crying ; and upon her
seeing Mr. Gardner she exclaimed that she had stabbed the
deceased with a knife used by him in his trade, which she I
had thrown out of the window; and upon a search bang
made the knife was found in the yard of the house, covered
with blood. The unfortunate deceased was found to have
been stabbed completely through the heart, and he died
minute or two after the arrival of the surgeon. While
Mr. Gardner was examining the deceased the prisoner
appeared to be very excited, and said that she and her hus-
band had been out together, and that upon their leaving
the:public-house to go home she gave her husband
the slip, and when she got hems he abused her,
and reproached her for leaving him, and in the
course of the altercation that took place between
them afterwards she threatened him with some violence,
upon which be opened his shirt, and said, " Do it," or
words to that effect, and she immediately snatched up the
i knife and plunged it into his breast. It appeared that the
prisoner had never attempted to deny that she had caused
the death of her husband, and on her being taken to the
police station, she said to the constable, " I have often
!taken up • knife to him, but this time I meant it."
Mr. Hurst addressed the jury for the prisoner, urging
that under the circumstances of excitement and liquor in
which the prisoner was at the time of the melancholy oc-
currence, they would be justified in taking a merciful view
of her conduct, and acquitting her of the crime of murder,
and find her guilty of manslaughter only.
The Lord Chief Baron, having summed up, the jury,
after a short deliberation, found the prisoner guilty of man-
slaughter.
She was sentenced to be traneported for ten years.

THE BRIGHTON CARD-CHEATING.

JoAn Broom* surrendered to take his trial up= an in-
dictment for misdemeanour, in having defrauded William
Henry Hemp of a large sum of money, by cheating at
eards.

Mr Johnson and Mr. Creasy were counsel for the prose-
entioi ; Mr. Parry and Mr. Sleigh appeared for the de-
fendant.

The facts of this case have been so repeatedly before the
public, under the head of " The Brighton Card-choating
Cue," that it will be utterly unnecessary to repeat them on
the present occasion.
The prosecutor Hemp was examined, but either from
want of memory, or some other cause, it was with very
great difficulty that any direct answer could be obtained
trom him, and in answer to a question put by Mr. Parry,
he laid that at the time when he was alleged to have been
defrauded by Btaden and James, who, it will be remem-
bered, were convicted upon an indictment which charged
them with being concerned in the transaction, the defendant
was asleep on a sofa, and took no part in the proceeding,
and he declared that he had &imp made the same state-
ment with regard to him.
The Chief Baron, after hearing this statement, expressed
his opinion that the jury could not be expected to convict a
man of an offence who, it was represented, was fast asleep
at the time it was supposed to have been committed, and
who took no part in it.
Mr. Johnson said that after this intimation from his lord-
ship, he should not proceed further with the cue.
The jury then, under his lordship's direction, returned a
verdict of Not Giddy, and the defendant was ordered to be
discharged.
This concluded the busineu of the mixes.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—STArroaD, JULY 20.
Bova' Ita. Ivrrics CRON !TOL
PERSONATING ♦ POTIR.
James Ray wee charged with having wilfully made false
answers to the questions put to him "as a person entitled
to claim a vote," by the presiding officer at an elation held
on the 24th of February, 1853, of a councillor for the ward
of St. George's, in the borough of Wolverhampton. The
prisoner pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to three months
imprisonment.