The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-10 00:00:00

NORTHERN

DiSGUSTING CRUELTY TO A MARRIED WOMAN

Unusual excitement has been manifested at Eccleshall and
the neighbourhood, in consequence of a rumour that Mrs.
Elizabeth Shelley, a person of weak intellect, wife of Thos.
Shelley, faimer, Shebdon, had been the subject of most in-
human treatment. The parties charged were the husband
and Martha Cotterill, his maid servant. The case was in-
vestigated at Eccleshall, in Staffordshire, at the castle of
which place the present and several of the preceding Bishops
of Lichfield have resided. A crowd of several hundred people
gathered round the accused on making their appearance in the
town, and followed them up and down the streets, shouting,
groaning, and pelting them with all kinds of rubbish. The
magistrates were R, Fisher, H. Killick, and T. 11. Borne.
Esqrs.; and from the evidence given by the poor woman
herself, and two male servants of her husband, the following
facts were disclosed : About four years ago .Cotterill was
engaged as servaat by Shelley, and fmm that period
she had assumed the position of m;stress, taking upon
herself the place of the complainant, who was driven
about and beaten. The ass iul's more immediately
complained of have been committed within Vie last
few months. About Christmas last, being enceinte,
Cotterill was sent to Manchester to be confined ; but
in the course of six weeks she refirned, and addressing
the complainant with these words, " Well, devil, I'm
come back again," struck her on the Lead with a knife, and
made it bleed, and also kicked her. Subsequently she dipper}
the mop in a quantity of horse wash, and then put it, covered
with manure, in the complainant's face. On another oc-
casion, whilst she was in the garden-house, Cotterill inflicted
severe pain upon the most tender parts of the body whit a
bunch of nettles, and then pulled her by the hair of her
head into the house and locked her up. She bad been
repeatedly. locked up iu the house, and the hair pulled off
her head in handfulls. Excrements from chamber vessels
had also been thrust into her mouth by Cotterill, with
threats that she would repeat the filthy act. The com-
plainant was never allowed to take meals with her husband,
and Cotterill generally sent her food unfit for dogs, in
which were maggots, ,tc. Cotterill also used to tell her
that although not yet Mrs. Shelley, as soon as she could
see the end of her she should be. The complainant's husband
was aware of the treatment, but he only laughed at it.
After the evidence had been gone through, the court, which
was crowded to suffocation, was cleared, and the magistrates,
after a short consultation, dismirsed the case against
Shelley, and fined Cotterill £5, including costs, for having
been guilty of a common assault. The decision of the
bench is un 'erstood to have given dissatisfaction to the
populace, and they followed the defendants, who were
escorted by a body of police, for a distance of two miles from
Eccleshall, shouting and otherwise manifesting their
disgust and disapproval.

THE DAILY NEWS ON THE NORTH WESTERN
RAILWAY.

The Daily News of Saturday, in a lengthene 1 leader upon
the recent disast,ra on the London and North Western Line,
sets forth the expediency of that company having an addi-
tional double track line, and says—" If its proprietary will
not adopt this means of efficiently serving the public who
furnish them with a weekly revenue of £64,000, the alter-
native i 3 very obvious. We must have another route from
the Midland Counties into London ; and that is perhaps
the preferable a'ternative, fur then we should have the
benefit, advantage, the economy, the safety, the better
accommodation, the greater punctuality, the superior
con.fort, which competition and rivalry are sure to
beget. Already, indeed, something like a new eceess to
London from the Midland districts is in course of construc-
tion. The Midland Company is engaged on a line which
ought long ago to have been made from Leicester to Bedford,
whence it can be carried into the grest Northern at Ilitchin.
Thus, when this is finished, we ought to have a second line
from Leicester to King's-cross. But already there are
symptoms observable, and rumours afi ,at that, when finished
to Belton', the traffic thence will be diverted on to the.
North Western, and brought to Euston-square. So that,
if this design be carried out, the line, instead of baing as
Parliament inte ided it should be, a relief to, will be an
additional burthen on the North Western "

TIMEB.---LIVERPOOL, MONDAY

THE SON O Y A BARONET CHARGED
WITH ROBBERY.

On Saturday, when the morning charges had been
disposed of at the police court, a person, named Thomas
Cooper, said to be an officer in the navy, and who said
himself that he was the grandson of Sir Astley Cooper,
was brought up before Mr. Bolton, on a charge with
having stolen a purse from Richard Simcox, which con-
tained six and a-half silver dollars, in Earl-street. The
prisoner was a small well looking young man, well
dressed, and having a number of rings on his fluids,
gold chains, an eye-glass, &c. He appeared to be about
22 years of age. The prosecutor was a nice looking
intelligent youth, of about seventeen years of age. The
facts of the case will be found in the following evidence :
Police Officer Murphy 676 said, between twelve and one
&cluck that day, he was called by the youth into the
Lime-street Railway Station, and the prisoner was given
in charge to him for having stolen . his purse and the
money stated. Witness got the purse and the money on
he prisoner—the purse contained a written note from the
mother of the prosecutor, and he at once identified it.
Witness found it in the purse along with the money.
The youth was called, and asked if he knew the prisoner ?
And he replied, I do, What is he ? A navy officer. We
lodged in the same house (Nlrs. Roberts, in Earl-street).
I got up in the morning, and took £3 in English money
out of my purse, and I. ft it with the dollars on the table,
and when I came hick it was gone ; it also contained a
note from my mother. The prisoner here said, I admit
taking it, but not with the intention of stealing it. I
thought I had not got enough of money to take me home,
arid I intended to return it to him. The officer, who had
him in charge, said he (the prisoner) wanted to pay the
money to the youth, and to compromise the matter with
him (the officer), but lie could not do that, once he had
the prisoner in charge for felony. He took the prisoner
before Mr. though, and, on searching him, the purse and
money \a re found. Mr. Bolton (to the prosecutor) :
Did you know the prisoner ? Prosecutor : Oh, yes, very
well ; we came in the ship Calden as passengers from
the west coast of South America. Mr. Bolton : And were
you friends ? Prosecutor : Oh, yes sir; certainly. Ido
übt.wish to prosecute him. In reply to. Mr. Bolton. the
prisoner said he swis grandson of Sir Astly Cooper. and
that his father was a baronet residing in Herefordshire.
It was not with the intention of defrauding the youth
he took the money, but as he did not think he had
enough to take him home, he took it with the intention
of sending the amount to him when he got home. Mr.
Bolton : If you had asked him for the loan, no doubt he
would have lent it to you. Prisoner : I think he would,
but he was out at the time, and I was in a hurry to
catch the train. In reply to Mr. Wybergh, the officer
said the prisoner partially denied the charge when he took
him into custody, but he afterwards admitted that betook
the purse and money for the reasons stated. Mr. Wybergh :
I think the case ought to go for trial. Mr. Bolton (to
the prosecutor) : How long are you remaining here ?
Prosecutor : I am going away to Cornwall to night, and
I really do not wish to prosecute him. Mr. Bolton : Yes,
but you put that out of our power by charging him with
felony. Mr. Wybergh : As the youth is going away,
you have two ways of dealing with the case—one is to
send tie prisoner for trial, and the other is to deal with
the case in a summary way, under the act Mr. Bolton :
Then I order the prisoner to pay a fine of £5, or to be
imprisoned for one month. Captain Henderson, the
commander of the ship in which the parties came home,
at once paid the fine, and the prisoner was discharged.
(He is a mate belonging to the Monarch man of war.)