The Express.
London, England, 1860-12-06 00:00:00

ASSIZE' INTELLIGENCE.

HOMZ ClRCUlT.—Mamxtroita, Doc. 5.
(Mote Mr. Justice Bylea.)

Mr. Frederick George Byre, the chaplain of the Faver-
sham Minn, an elderly man, surrendered to take him trial
upon a charge of feloniously assaulting Sophia Foreman.
Mr. F. Russell conducted the prosecution ; the prisoner
was defended by Mr. Barrow.
'l;otrosecutrix, a young and rather good-looking wane,
dep
osed that she was the wife of William Henry Foreman,
who was a Mistryoook at Faversham, and she and her hus-
band lived in the sense house with the prisoner at °springs,
and witness acted as his housekeeper. The magnums
complained of took plies on the nth of October _and an
that day her husband had gone to attend to his beekiem
at Faversham, leaving her alone with the primmer in
the house. Soon after her husband was gone the prisoner
called to her, and told her to get hlm his boota. At this
time witness was in the site-lag-room on the ground-floor,
and the prisoner was in the kitchen, and she took the boots
to him there and gave them to him, and he then made an
improper proposal to ber, and witness told him she did not
understand him, and left the room and returned to the sit.
ting-room. Shortly afterwards the prisoner came into the
sitting-room. She was on her knees at the time engaged in
sweeping, and the prisoner caught hold of her wrote and
pulled her into a room upstairs. She did not recollect that
he said anything while he was dragging her along, but
she did all she could to prevent him, although she was
net able to offer much reeistacce, on account of her weak
state from having been recently connoted of a still-born
child. The prisoner then pulled her into hie bedroom
and forced her on the bed in spite of her struggles, and
committed an assault upon her. (The witness detailed the
Joni:Ware, which are not fit for publication.) She went
so to say that she was almost insensible at the time, and
was not aware whether she shrieked out or not, but she
endeavoured all she could to prevent the prisoner from car-
rying out his intention. The prisoner left the room, and
went downstairs, and as soon as she was sufficiently re-
covered she also went down, and saw him in the act of
going out at the street door. No one came to the house
during the day 'inept Mr. Alvey, the master of the union
workhouse, who called in the evening, and her husband did
not return home until twelve at night, when she told him
that the prisoner bad been riling her about. 118 said,
" Pulling you about -what you mean • How did be
pull you about r She then told him that *he bad pulled
her upstairs, but lterhushandwu In such • rage that she did
not like to tell him any more, particularly as he said that if
Mr. Eyre had come in at the time he would have killed
him. On the Sunday after the occurrence she
laid her husband's mother how the prisoner had
behaved to her, and said that he bad forced her up
stain into his bedroom, and insulted her. She remained in
the prisoner's house until the 10th October, but be was not
there during the time. He had gone to attend the funeral
of his brother at Bath, and he told witness and her husband
when he was going to before he left, but he did not say
when be was coming back. He told them that he was
gdag away before the offence was committed. Witness
tweet before a magistrate on the 10th October, but she did
not then make any particular charge against the prisoner,
and her reason for this was that her husband wanted to get
the furniture away without any bother. She told the ma-
gistrate's clerk and the superintendent of police that she
could say a good deal more than she did if she was not
afraid of her husband. Her sister subsequently informed
her husband of all that hail occurred, and he immediately
obtained a warrant against the prisoner, and he was taken
into custody upon this charge.
The preeecntrix was subjected to a very searehing nem.
examination by Mr. Barrow, and in the ootnee of it she
stated that the house where the affair occurred was ens of •
row, and there were houses on both sides of it, aod she be-
Loved that persons in the adjoining houses could have beard
if there Ind been any noise or screaming is the prisoner's
house. She straggled as much as she could when the pri-
soner laid hold of her, and she believed that she screamed
while he was forcing her upstairs. When the prisoser
forced her upon the bed she resisted with all her strength.
She first told her husband the whole of what took place at
liamegate, but he had heard the story front her sister
before. . _ .

--iie:examined—Witness suffered a good deal after her eon-
finer:tient, and was subject to palpitation of the heart, and
when she was so attacked she lost all her strength. The
reason she did not tell any of the neighbours what had
happened was that the prisoner had told both her and her
husband not to have any communication with them.
In answer to questions put by the learned Judge, the
pteeecntrix said that she had only been married two years.
She had no family. She would be :t9yearsold next birthday.
Whea she saw her mother she told her that she wanted ker
advice, and she then informed her how the prisoner had be.
hared to her, and when she Lad done so her mother said,
"For God's sake don't tell William (meaning her husband);
he is such • violent temper, something serious will omen"
Her Itnisband was a violent tempervil
William Foreman, busbued to the prosecutrix, dr

=hat he was formerly • private in the Royal
sad was now employed at Favenhein. He
sad his wife went to live at the priming?s house, at
°spring., a short time before the Bth of October. He re-
membered going out on that day to attend to his business,
and he did not return home until late at night. He observed
that his wife did not seem well, and he seed her what was
the matter, and she made a complaint of the conduct of the
prisoner. On the following Sunday he went with her to his
mother's at Faversham, and in consequence of something he
heard afterwards he obtained • warrant against the prisoner
charging him with this offence. The prisoner upon one
occasion asked him where his miens was, end he told him
that he could not expect that she would stop in his house
after the manner he had behaved to her. The reply the
prisoner made ',was that we wanted to catch him in a trap.
Witness told him they did not want anything of the sort,
and the prisoner then told him to po into his
study with him, and he then said to him,
" What is all this bobbery about ? " and then
inquired what witness's wife had said to him. He told
hint that she said he had dragged her upstairs and made
obscene propositions to her. The prisoner then inquired
whether he lied taken any steps in the matter, and he re-
plied that he had been before • magistrate and had obtained
a warrant, sad the prisoner they said that if he had not
done that he would have made it all right with him, and
witness replied that all he wanted was to get out of his
house as soon as he could. Oa the morning after this
occurred, the prisoner came to him in • very excited state,
and asked if he wrote • letter to his wife to ask her to
some back, whether she would do so, and witness' told him
he knew that she would not, for he would not let her. The
prisoner after this did write • letter to his wife and read it
over to witness and asked him whether be thought
it would do, and he at the same time said that
'no could not be expected to commit himself.
Witness told him that was his (prisoner's) affair,
and not his own' and the prisoner then said
that if his wife did not cpme hack the people
would think there was something up, and they would hoot
at him and he should lose his Zinn. He also mid that if
she would only come back for a day or two he would not
mind.

The letter referred to was put in and read. It was ad-
dreamed to the proeecutrix, and in it the primmer expressed
his astonishment that she had left his house, and said it
would be much better if she came back and the matter
was settled amicably.
Examination continued—When witness told the prisoner
that his wife had made a charge against him of pulling her
about, he said that he did lay hold of her wriata, but ho bad
no motive for doing so, and made use of some other 1,0711,
which wit:lees did not understand. At that time he did
not know all that had taken place.
The mother of the last witness and the sister to the pro.
aecutrix were then examined, and they proved that she
made ► complaint to them of the manner in which the pri-
goner bad behaved to her.

—XL Alvey tio;icioelinaster to the union, deposed that
he called at the prisoner's house on the evening of the 6th
et October, and saw the prosecutrix, and inquired if Mr.
Eyre was et home, and she told him he was not.
By Mr. Barrow—The prosecutrix made no complaint to
him at this time, and there was nothing at all particolar in
her appeataea that attracted his attention. The parti-
tions of the houses in the row where the prisoner lived
were very thin, and he had frequently heard voices through
them. _ _

-111 is concluded the Calla for the prosecution.
Mr. Barrow then made a very able address to the jury on
behalf of the prisoner, and he commented at some length
upon the improbability of the story told by the prosecutrix,
and said that, if she had made the resistance she repre-
sented, her cries must have been heard in the adjoining
houses.

The learned Judge then summed up, and the jury retired
to deliberate upon their verdict. They were absent about
half-au-hour, and upon their return into court they gave a
verdict of Not Guilty.
There was • alight manifestation of applause when the
verdict was delivered.