The Express.
London, England, 1846-11-21 00:00:00

Tax EDINBURGH TOWN COUNCIL have also canvassed
the conduct of the Edinburgh end Glasgow Railway
Directors. By a majority of 23 to 6 the municipal autho-
rities of the chief city of Scotland have agreed to a memorial
to be presented to the company, condemnatory of their in-
tention of discontinuing the trains on Sundays.

PROVINCIAL.

THE COMMITTEE POIC. PRoIIOTING THE INCORPORATION
of :Bradford have recently had several meetings for consulta-
tion, :he result of which is a determination to renew their
apellesek,:., for a charter. It is expected that the question
will be in g :Aide to be laid before the Privy Council by the
time Parliameat assembles.
DURHAM.
Tax Towle Cottacti, of Sunderland have ordered a rate
of one halfpenny in the pound on the property in the bo-
rough, to sustain the expense: connected with the formation
of a public museum, which is plazed under the direction of a
committee of the council.
THE WINOATII COLLIERY CLERK.- -The fugitive clerk,
Cower', who absconded from Wingate eislliery, with nearly
6001, belonging to his employer, Lord Howcian, and who was
apprehended at Ghent, in Flanders, is said to be again at
liberty. Nearly the whole of the money, with the exception
of his " travelling expenses," and the cost of his ".gentle-
manly " outfit—his gold watch and ring, wig, imperial, sad
moustaches—having been recovered, " it has not been coati-
tiered worth while to bring him to Durham for prosecution..'
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
Tax POISONING CASE AT SUTTON-UPON-TRENT.—The
inquest on the body of the late Mr. 0. Taylor was re-com-
menced on Thursday. The principal facts of tho case have
been detailed in our columns, and are briefly these : The
deceased having offended his housekeeper, Elizabeth Smith,
she gave him a dose of arsenic, or as it is called in the country,
mercury. This she said she did for the purposeof making
him unwell, and of so keeping him at home. It had the
desired effect, but the deceased recovered. Subsequently,
however, he scolded her fur stopping longer than he wished
at Marnham fur, and she administered to him another dose
which erouser his death. These events occurred two years
ago, but the housekeeper being oppressed by conscience, had
lately confessed them to her neighbours, who informed the
coroner, and the present proceedings were the result. The
body was exhumed, and the contents of the stomach sent to
London for analysation by an eminent chemist there, the
inquest being in the meantime adjourned to receive his
evidence. Miss Smith, who was brought up in custody, did
not appear to be much affected by the charges against her.
Eliza Otter, of Sutton (being further examined), said, I had
another conversation with the prisoner Smith besides the
our I have related. She also told me that she came down
one Sunday evening to see Mrs. Taylor, and after talking a
short time she went home, Mrs. Taylor going out with her.
Mrs. Taylor said to her, " Have you got any of those
powders for George ?" Miss Smith said, "No ; but I
was going to get some mercury to poison the mice, and
I thought I would give him some of that—only a little, not
to take life. God forbid !" Mrs. Taylor said, ' You need not
get any ; there is a pound in the bureau." Miss Smith
then told me that she went to Idaraharm fair, and called at
Mrs. Taylor's as she came back; and told her that George
was ill, and had been to Mr. Pettinger, the surgeon. Mrs.
Taylor answered, "No matter if he was worse." Miss
Smith then told me that she thought from that that Mrs.
Taylor meant her to give him a little more mercury. Mrs.
Taylor said, " Oh, Miss Smith, how could you think so,
when I did not know that you had given it at all." I can-
not remember any more.—By • Juror: I have frequently
had conversations with Mrs. faylor when Miss Smith TM
not present. She said she should never have thought of such
• thing (namely, the giving of mercury), if Miss Smith had
not always been coming down with tales about George.
Mrs. Taylor said she recommended antimonial wine. It was
at last agreed to give him calomel powders, which Miss
Smith said was the same thing, and that she had taken them
herself, and they had made her very ill.—Otter, Maria Walker,
Lucy Curia, and Ann Hayes, were also re-examined,
but no additional facts were elicited. Several witnesses
proved that the deceased was on the best terms with
Miss Smith and Mrs. Taylor.—Mr. Pettinger, surgeon, fur-
ther said, when the body was disinterred, I assisted in tak-
ing out the whole of the stomach and abdominal viscera.
They were placed in two jars, and conveyed by me to Pro-
tenor Taylor, of Guy's Hospital, London, in order that they
might be analysed.—The Coroner here stated that he had
received a very long report from Professor Taylor; but as
the professor was not present, he did not think it would be
proper to read it. It would, however, be smite right to
state, that no arsenic or other poison had been found in any
of the viscera. The coroner then offered to adjourn the in-
quest in order to procure the professor's presence, if desired.
—Mr. Pettinger was then examined at great length. He
said, up to the 25th of September I saw nothing dangerous
in the deceased's disease ; and I think if he had been left to
my treatment he would have recovered. Ido not think the
first symptoms would of themselves have become so aggra-
vated. I think that the urgent symptoms were
caused by arsenic, perhaps by a series of very
small doses, but more probably by one larger
dose administered immediately before. I returned to the
registrar as the cause of death, ulcerated stomach ; but that
is the disease caused by taking arsenic. I never for a mo-
ment imagined that his malady was so occasioned ; and If
nothing had occurred since I should never have suspected it.
Judging now from the symptoms, and from what I have
heard, I think he died from arsenic. I will not swear It,
because the same effects might have been occasioned
by disease ; but it is my decided conviction that the cause of
the deceased's demise was arsenic. Dr. Morton said: On
I looking upon all the facts of the case, my opinion is, the de-
ceased died from arsenic. After a few minutes' deliberation,
the jury returned a verdict of " Manslarghter against Eliza-
beth Smith and Sarah Taylor." On hearing this decision,
the elder prisoner assumed an air of virtuous indignation;
but Smith, who is rather a fine young woman, about 28
years of age, appeared deeply affected. The Coroner then
issued his warrant for their committal for trial at the next
Nottinghamshire assizes.
LEICESTERSHIRE.
EXTRAORDINARY CONVICTION.—LOUORROROI:OI4, FRI-
DAY.—At the petty sessions held yesterday (Thursday) in
this town, for the North Division of Leicestershire, an infor-
m ation was laid before the Rev. W. Acworth and G. J. D.
Danvers, Esq., the sitting magistrates; by S. C. Brown,
of Coventry, against George Dixon, paper manufacturer, of
King's-mills, near Castle Donnington, for having on the 2nd
inet. on his premises 148 reams of grocers' paper tied up, not
labelled. Mr.Woolley, solicitor, of Loughborough, appeared
on behalf of the defendant. Though the penalty of 10/. per
ream amounted to 1,4801., besides the forfeiture of the paper,
he pleaded guilty to the charge, alleging that the paper had
been tied up, without any criminal intention, and prayed
for the mitigation of the penalty. First, because Mr. Dixon
and his family had occupied their present premises as menu-
facturers of paper for nearly 150 years, end bad never before
during that long period been known to be guilty of any vio-
lation of the law. Secondly, Mr. Dixon bore an excellent
character, and witnesses of high respectability were in at-
tendance from Castle Donnington to prove it. Thirdly,
That there bad been no moral breach of the statute,
nor intention to violate it., though the letter of the law
bad not been complied with ; and as the transaction was of
the most public nature, which might be seen by the plan of
the premises, produced to the bench. and the labels being cut
ready to be placed on the paper when the excise officers
entered, proved that Mr. Dixon, who had only just returned
from a journey, and been in the habit of superintending the
labelling himself, was about to complete the work, did not
attempt to defraud the revenue, nor had there been any loss
suffered. The magistrates having no power to mitigate
lower than to one-fourth, convicted the defendant in a
penalty of 3701., which, with the forfeiture of the paper,
amounted to 5001. The reasons adduced by Mr. Woolley
were promised to be laid before the Board of Excise, and the
bench would recommend the penalty to be mitigated to 201.
in addition to the forfeiture of
ISHIRE . the paper.
DORSE
Tax REPRESENTATION OP NYEYSIOUTR.—AN M.P.
CRALLENOED.—On Thursday evening a meeting of the
electors of Weymouth was convened at the Royal
Hotel to receive the newly-found Liberal candidate,
Colonel Freestun, and to hear his political senti-
ments. Shortly after seven o'clock, Mr. Christie, M.P ,
Colonel Freestun;Admiral Ferris, and others, appeared on
the platform, and the late mayor of the borough (Mr. Wil-
liam Deveniah) took the chair.—Mr. Christie came forward
amid loud cheers, and said when he left them the other day
he did not expect so soon to meet them again, but he had
thought it right to return again for the express purpose of
being present on the occasion of the first public appearance
of Col.Freestun, and for the purpose of hailing him as a can-
didate in conjunction with himself, and he thought he might
and, as his future probable colleague. (Cheers.) Since he
last met them in that room something had happened with
reference to what fell from him on that occasion, of which
he was very glad to have an opportunity of informing them
at a public meeting, though he certainly should not have
thought it worth while to call them together expressly for
the purpose of acquainting them with it. They would pro-
bably remember that on that occasion he was led to enter
into a statement of certain communications which had been
made to him from time to time by Mr. Dodson on
the subject of Mr. Gordon's conduct towards himself,
and one of the statements which he made on the subject
was, that he had received lately a communication from
Mr. Dodson, telling him that he had strong reasons for
believing that Mr. Gordon had been engaged in intrigues
against him, not there, but elsewhere. He went on to say,
that he bad the letter to which he referred, and that when
he returned to town he would send it to • friend to show Mr.
Gordon ; and, not charging Mr. Gordon that the statement
was true, he said, that for the sake of his (Mr. Gordon's)
character, as well as his own, there should be inquiries and
explanations elsewhere. Shortly after his arrival in town a
common friend of them both told him that Mr. Gordon
wished the letter sent. He immediately fulfilled his pro-
mise, and placed the letter in his friend's hand, for the pur-
pose of showing it to Mr. Gordon. After this, he received a
message, through the same friend, in which he was called
on for an explanation of the words to which he had alluded,
as being words injurious to Mr. Gordon's character ; and he
was informed, that if an explanation not satisfactory to Mr.
Gordon was not given, he (Mr. Gordon) must resort
to that which was usually understood to be the resort
upon there occasions. (Laughter.) Now, he was not
ashamed to say in that public meeting what he said to the
friend who brought him the message, that he had tonngg tines
made up his mind, that under no circumstances w
would he be a party to a duel. (Cheers.) It was a crime
forbidden by the laws of the country and the commands of
God, and the practice being one that had taken a deep root
in the fashionable world, he considered it to be the duty of
every one placed under such circumstances as he had been to
use his utmost influence for the purpose of preventing others
from following. it, and with these views he had joined the
London Association for the Prevention of Duelling. But
although he would not fight a duel he considered it a duty
to repair to the utmost of his power any wrong that he might
unintentionally have committed, and he, therefore, placed
himself in the hands of an experienced and discreet friend,