The Express.
London, England, 1857-05-14 00:00:00

LAW INTELLIGENCE

T-SE WALWORTH MURDERS.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.-THIS DAY.

The trial of the prisoners Thomas Adler Baton end
Martha Bacon, for the murder of their children, was re-
sumed this morning.
The jury were eecorted from the London Coffee-hrome,
where they bad been during the night, by the officers of the
court shortly before ten o'clock.
The learned judge, took their seats on the beech at ten
o'clock, end the prisoners were then again placed at the bit.
The woman exhibited the same indifference in her de-
meanour that had characterised her during the preceding
day; but the male prisoner appeared, if possible, more ex-
cited than during the previous day'. proceedings.
After the names of the jurors had been called over, the
Irma counsel for the prieonere proceeded to open the cam
ler the defence.
ak. Singh first addremod the jury on behalf of the
amigo primmer ; and he said ho felt that it wee only necessary
ao maw their attention for a very few minute', as he was
mentei that, upon the facts before them, they could only
OWN in one conclusion, which was that, supposing she had
memmilled the act imputed to her, she was not in such e
"bee et mind as to be responsible for her acts. He naked
Sim to look to the conduct of the we...--

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Thee
verdict
Mr. I

The
the

tlr araner in which she behaved after the dread-
fel bed had bean committed, going coolly out of the
hewn with her reed-book and a half-sovereben to pay her
rent, awl not betraying the lesetemotion ; and he asked whe-
ther Sem fade were not coneashe of her insanity P It was
ga .diary fact that when persons were Mowing
Sider hemmity, their daisies generally led them to
=aim mkt violeksiewintthosewho were nearest and
in M. end the we base out by the highest
medi-
amkaetWalbeaddaue amid beno doubt that the un-
fits siamemtel felinity destroyed her children,
aware what oho wee doing at the lime, and on that
ought to be eimaitted. The learned counsel then
=refeirM to the evileace of the medical gentlemen, end
their opinion that at the taw they saw the prisoner she wan
undoubtedly in • state of trinity ; and he concluded by =-
pruning his oonvktion rat the kw, could, under the dr-
cumstances, come to no slier smadedua than that she really
was insane when the M 1/11111 wimmeitted, and that they
would acquit her on thitoseml.
Mr. Metcalfe next alleerelrajay ea What a hie
client, the male prisoner, and be sae al a very Idely. He
mid he felt the responsibility that was cast urn bass, rid
the fearful issue that was involved in the ingaby; bob he
said, he entertained very little doubt that whoa the 'ay
looked at all the facts of the era they weeldfeta di sully
in coming to the conclusion that Sum was me lbeagates Ike
the charge against the primmer, sad bit be cult is be
acqnitted It was admitted by his learned friend that
the female prisoner bad committed the act of destroaftag
children, and there appeared to be every reason for
that she was in a state of insanity at the time; but the
theory on the part of the prosecution was that the man might
have bempresent, and that he was in some way concerned in
the act. He said he should contend with the greeted ma-
damce that then was not a tittle of evidence to show that he
was in the house or near it at the time the act was committed,
said that all the evidence in the cue showed that the un-
mipterwcosan destroyed the children after her husband had
, and that, while labouring under a delusi of in-
natty,
She committed the act, and that the male on
primmer
was totally innocent of any participation In it. If, se
had been suggested, the deed was the result of a Om
that had been concocted between the two prisoners, he
asked them whether it was not abetted Wennou that the dead
child would have been placed in his chair with his toys
before him, and whether this was not mom like the set of •
maniac than of a cane person. He said he thought the pri-
soner had great cause to complain of the observations that
had been made respecting him by the press, in which ha had
been held as • murderer of the worst description, and that •
Brest =stint of prejudice had been meat unfairly created
against him by those observations, and he believed
that but for this prejudice the present charge would
never have been preferred. Hs contended that there
was no evidence to prove that the male prisoner bad
anything te do with the murder; and said, that although
be had undoubtedly told a good many lies, it
wee dear that his only object was to relieve hie
wife from the trouble she had got into, and
that he biped to have it believed that the mur-
der had been committed by some stranger with the
object of plunder and that MU would have the effect of
getting his wife mitered to him. The learned counsel then
called the attention of the jury to the facts of the case, and he
said it appeared to him that evetycircamstance that had been
deposed to tended to show that it wee the hand of the woman
alone that destroyed the lives of the children. At chalet
hoportanoshadbeenattachedtothestatamentmade Walk-
eon, that it wan her hubandwho committed the m butit
Mrto him that this circumstance was really worth vary
ortsidendion, as It was evident that the unfortunate
woman only made this statement after she had been con-
versing with the women who were about her, and that her
object was to get herself out of trouble, and the jury would
also remember that it was a statement made
by • woman who was admitted to be buena.
Be said it appeared to him that the fact of the prisoner
having gone with his wife on the day before the murders
were committed to a relation with a view to procure Me,.
Munro to stay with his wife during his absence was conclu-
sive of his innocence, for if he had contemplated the com-
mission of murder how could he have taken such a step?
The learned counsel than concluded by expressing a
confident option that no jury of Englishmen would convict
• man of a crime that must inevitably consign him to the
scaffold, unites upon clear and conclusive evidence, of which
there was an entire absence in the present case.
The Lord Chief Justice in summing up expressed his
opinion that it had been clearly made out that the female
prisoner bad committed the act of murder upon her children,
and that she was insane at the time, and ought to be ac-
qtdtted co that ground. He then referred to the case of
the other prisoner, and told the jury that it appeared to
him there was an utter absence of anything like direct
evidence, and that upon the facts of this inquiry it appeared
to be extremely improbable that the husband was concerned
in the murders.

Mr.
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The jury retired et twenty minute' after one o'clock to
eqnsider their verdict.

They returned into oourt in about ten minutes and gave
• verdict of NOT GUILTY u regarded Thomu Fuller
Bacon, and acquitted Martha Bacon on the ground of
Insanity.

The Lord Chief Justice said he entirely concurred in the
verdict, and he at the same time thought it right to say that
mince the female prisoner had been in Newgate, she had eon-
head that ohs alone committed the murders.

loam to

The male prisoner was removed, and the female wee
toderod to be detained during her Majesty's plasma.

THIS DAY.
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
(Sittings at Fief Prins, in London.—Before Cbied hullos
Cockburn and a Common Jury.)
TRACET V. PORDNAN.--SLANDEN. AND PALOS

The plaintiff in this case is caallier in the office of the
Royal Naval and Military Life Assurance Company, end the
defendant was formerly the landlord of a public-house at
Creyford, in Kent, called the Duke of Wellington. The
action was brought to recover damages for slander and false
imprisonment, and the only plea was not guilty.
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Prentice appeared for the plaintiff;
and the defendant appeared in person.
The plaintiff • MO was that on the 28th December last
he, with a fellow-clerk, went on a walking excursion to
Croydon, and about six o'clock on the evening of that day
they went into the defendant's hones and had some brandy
and water, and water put into a flask, and also had some
best. They paid for these articles with a new shilling and a
lifirstipence, and left to go to the railway station. On the
limy they found that they were pursued by the defendant, and
Mar person who represented hiumelf, but who was not in
ilia, a constable. The defendant accused them of baying
peed bad . They at first laughed at the accusation,
OM slinpanis ed cards, and said they were gentlemen,
and Mewl& apeman& bed money. The defendant, how-
pm, enegellea Mem to go back to his bowie, and there gave
Alm Mb*, eaMody of a policemen, who took them to Bel-
=.. My Ise& aatiet-house. The superintendent there sent the
WM, which had been passed, and also some other money
Wilde the plaintiff and too friends had with them to a gen-
eses= who lived in the neighbourhood, and who was one of '
Me indlies at the Bank of England. He pronounced all
sway le be geed, end therefore the plaintiff and hie
Mob were told that they would not be detained any
ICand they went about their business.
defendant's ease was that hie wife took the money,
sad after the plaintiff went away two people refusedtoaM
iiia money from her, and it having been shown to many
in the house they all pronounced it bad. The
t was advised to go after the plaintiff and
Mend, and make them change the money,
he went with that objoct. lie overtook them,
asked them to go into • public-boom doer by and cheap
the meaty, but they refused to do so and said they would go
back. They did go back, not upon corupuleioo but volun-
tarily, and when they got to the Duke of Wellington they
wished somebody to be sent for to prove the money, and •
)1 men named Pearson was fetched. He said the money
s bad, and asked them how much more of that
' of mosey they had about them, which caused them to
lope their money, and he said some of that 1
also bad. Pearson subsequently took the
ties to the station-house, but this was solely his own act, '
defendant not having given them into custody. Mr.
rdham and a man who was present were called to prove
ne facts. The last of these witnesses was asked in
ma-examination what he was, end he said that he
w a cripple. (A laugh.) He could not do regular work,
it he got his living by doing a little piece of shoe-mending
blab ha had picked out of his own head. (Laughter.) He
mostinme got jobs from the Duke of Wellington.
The*, found a verdict for the plaintiff as to the Wes im-

public
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rHE WALWORTH MURDERS..
--..--- Mr. P
WITHAL CRIMINAL CO CRT.—THIS DAY. COMM The tO
C
The trial of the prisoners Thomas Arlo. Baron and calico l
Merida Amon, for the murder of their children, was re- whimatterch ,
tuned this morning. no don
The jury were escorted born the London Coffee-house, that he
here they bad been during the night, by the Maws of the The f,
met shortly before ten o'clock. verdict
The learned fudges took their seats on the bench at ten . Mn'
Mr.
'clock, end the prisoners were then again placed at the ter. The C •
The woman exhibited the same Indifference in her de- matter m
mum' that had characterised her during the preceding ineteed
Ay; but the male prisoner appeared, if possible, more ex- I'Tel
tted than during the previous day's proceedings. it, it wa•
After the names of the jurors had been called over, the consent
earned counsel for the prisoners proceeded to open the cam His •
or the defence. ricks the
Mr. Mei& first addremod the jury on behalf of the
mule primmer ; and he said he felt that it war only necessary ,e,,,,,_
e asap, their attention for • very few minutest, as he was v"www/.1
Omani that, upon the facta before them, they could only since 0,
MIS to one conclusion, which was that, supposing she had
sulditted the act imputed to her, she was not in such a The d
Wad mind as to be responsible for her acts. He malted the nee.
Wm to look to the conduct of the woman—to two
he meaner in which she behaved after the dread- Mr Jare.
it.
Id deed had been committed, going coolly out of the Q,,,tiff,
MN with her rent-book and a hallmovereben to pay her the woe
la, nod not betraying tha lenetermition ; end he asked whe- h. fen
we rim fade were not cadanahe of her insanity P It was the dere
•rikaarldarrf fact that Awn persons were labouring ~,,0,„,,„d
odes Inudty, their deludes generally led them to the dm* nos act at videueephotthose who were nearest and the
Meet is Bank add Mt was lose out by the highest medi- „oe toce .
el aledesdkp, dribs soldfilne meld beno doubt that the un- dd.idmi
2V:has essaasitedieunity destroyed her children
.ies to
re what du was doing et the time, and on that woro- it
puma ought to be eimptitted. The learned counsel that he. soot
elegy refined to the evldemce of the medical gentleman and h sou
▪ opinion that at the Yes they saw the prisoner she ma omnibus,
undoubtedly in • state atinunity ; and he concluded by ex- fault on
reesing his conviction ea the Jeri could, woke the dr- of thy
=stances, come to no ellsendiries than that she really oak&
ma insane when the at ins ndonitted, and that they At the
rould salute her on the peed, The j
Mr. Metcalfe next alheesel Yes__ aWNW of his nand,. 0
tient, the male prisoner, mil be aim me et wry delay. He no./ ,
aid he felt the romonsitdity that was cast urn Hoc, ad Nomi
he fearful issue that was involved in the intpdot kits he
aid, he entertained very little doubt that whoa the )my
robed at all the fact. of the ere, they weaddhel as dllitinity (Bitting'
O coming to the conclusion that lien erns he lbemadies Ike
he charge against the primmer, and Bra her ought Is be
cqnitted It was admitted by his learned Mond that Thie m
he female prisoner bad committed the act of destroying the the •
hildren, and there appeared to be every mown for betlsving gott 110 ell
hat she was in a state of hmanity at the time; but the h.
hoary on the pert of the prosecution woe that the man ht from th
eve bun_present, and that he was in some way om,m•ned in jurymen
he act. He said he should contend with the greatest cone- of the
lance that there was not a tittle of evidence to show that he eleven o
was in the home or mar it at the time the act was committed, he she
and that all the evidence In the eau showed that the un- were •
2tiisrcesan destroyed the children after herhuatand had brought
her, and that, while labouring under a delude@ din- The
lenity, she committed the act, and that the male prisoner to toe
ma totally innocent of any participation In It. IL am which
had been suggested, the deed was the mutt of a plan the cone
that had been concocted between the two prisoners, he box, for
eked them whether it was not abetted to sunou that the load to Wee.
thild would have been placed in his chair with his toys the .1
beton him, and whether this was not more like the act of • could no
naniac than of a sane person. He said he thought the pet. dent n
toner had great cause to complain of the observations that Subsorm
tad been made respecting him by the press, in which ha bad lowieloP
teen held as • murdered the worst description, and that • to-ce"
put =dint of prejudice had been meat unfairly created wee to
igamst him by those observations, and he believed Premed
hat but for this prejudice the patient charge would Joel
lever have been preferred. He contended that there ••,_ ,holft
seas no evidence to prove that the male prisoner had eneePo
inything is do with the murder; and said, that although
a had undoubtedly told a good many lies, it
ma clear that his only object was to relieve hia
wife from the trouble she had got into, and
bat he hoped to have it believed that the mar-
ls had been committed by some stranger with the COMM
object of plunder and that thin would have the effect of lib II
getting his wife restored to him. The learned counsel then now his
ailed the attention of the jury to the fecta of the cane, and he 7 sod
aid it appeared to him that evetychasmatance thathed been
deposed to tended to show that it war the hand of the woman t° the
done that destroyed the lives of the children. As:dealef after the
mport•noeharibeenattachodtothestatementmade /drape- bad •
on, that it wan her busbandwhocornmittedthem butit nth,
Msaftto him that this circumstance war really worth vary of the
d condderation, ea it wee evident that the unfortunate
woman only made this statement after she had been con- Gomel.
✓asing with the women who were about her, sad that her
object was to get herself out of trouble, end the jury would the
dao remember that it was • statement made would
m • woman who was admitted to be limns.
_,___;__
Ile said it appeared to him that the fact of the prisoner s"."‘"‘"l'
taring gone with his wife on the day before the murders of joint
were committed to a relation with a view to procure Mrs. the
Munro to stay with his wife during his absence was condo- nothing
dm of his innocence, for if he had contemplated the nom- ,„„,., • •
mission of murder how could he have taken such a slept•--
The learned counsel than concluded by expressing • body lie
onfident opinion that no jury of Englishmen would convict Comm:ice
1 man of a crime that mud inevitably consign him to the fold . ;
,caffold, whim upon deer and concludve evidence, of which pert of
hers was an entire deuce in the present case.
The Lord Chief Justice in summing up expressed his dill
minion that it had been dearly made out that the female to Weigle
primmer had committed the act of murder upon her children, general
tad that she was insane at the time, and ought to be ac- common
pitted on that ground. He then referred to the cue of wee paid
Re other prisoner, and told the jury that it appeared to
d •
him there was an utter absence of anything like direct •
evidence, and that upon the facts of thisinquiry it appeared the coo
to be extremely improbable that the husband was concerned raise the
in the murders. • aim
The jury retired at twenty minute' after one o'clock to public)
ionsider their verdict. a Cp1,.,,
They returned into court in about ten minutes and gave port, and
a verdict of NOT OIJILTY as regarded Thomu Fuller to come
Bacon, and acquitted Martha Bacon on the ground of lam. to
insanity.
exPeo •
The Lord Chief Justice said he entirely concurred in the banking
verdict, and he at the same time thought it right to say that lose, end
dace the female prisoner bad been in Newgate, she had con- donee,
fused that she alone committed the murders. origins'
The male prisoner was removed, ...1 the female wee lemon.
ordered to be detained during her Mejesty's pleasure. know
to avail
on •
LAW INTELLIGENCE. Thspoey w
THIS DAY. banking,
manage .
--,,--
Ottll.
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. directors
(Sittings at Nisi Prim, In London.—Before Chief Justice dieted
Cockburn and a Common Jury.) duals
TRACET O. PORDRAIL--11LANDEIL AND PALOS who. T
IMPRIIIeNMENT. Where
The plaintiff in this case is caallier in the office of the whether
Royal Naval and Military Life Assurance Company, and the same as
defendant was formerly the landlord of a_iiblic-house at ineorpo
Croford, in Kent, called the Duke of Wellington. The eheee,
action was brought to recover damages for slander and fold
public
imprisonment, and the only plea was not guilty.
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Prentice appeared for the plaintiff; The di
and the defendant appeared in person.
The plaintiff •mu was that on the 28th December lad to the
he, with a fellow-clerk, went on • walking excursion to ~,. w
Croydon, and about six o'clock on the evening of that day '''''"'
they went into the defendant's home and had some brandy stmt
and water, and water put into a flask, and ale had some stock
beer. They paid for these articles with • new shilling and a be Ms
mew sixpence, and left to go to the railway dation. On the victim
way they found that they were pursued by the defendant, and the 1,
another person who represented himself, but who wee not in must .
fact, • constable. The defendant dewed them of baring lily . •
paced bad money. They at first laughed at the accusation, nece
and aftawatda gilded cards, and mid they were gentlemen, the oft
and incapable of panting bed money. The defendant, how- might •
ever compelled them to go back to his house, and there gave Mr.
than; into the custody of a policeman, who took them to Bel- Hono
ley Heath station-hover. 'The superintendent there tent the Mr.
money which had been passed, and also some other money behalf
which the plaintiff and his friends had with them to a gen- some •
*lemma who lived in the neighbourhood, and who wee one of r
; the cashiers at the Bank of England. Ho pronounced all Mr.
the money to be good, and therefore the plaintiff and his
e friends were told that they would not be detained any
loner, and they went about their business.
1 Ihe defendant's case was that his wife took the
and after the plaintiff went away two people refuoedromde
the money from her, and it hating been shown to many
ipeople in the house they all pronounced it bad. The
defendant was advised to go after the plaintiff and
- hia Mend, and make them change the money,
land he went with that object. Ile overtook them, Dar
Land asked them to go into •public-house C. 10•0 by and change stolen
oche roomy, but they refuar dtodo so and said they would go Jo
back. They did go back, not upon compulsiou, but volun- gentle
itsrily, and when they got to the Duke of Wellington they chief.
•wished somebody to be sent for to prove the money, and • the m,
yetoliceman named Pearson was fetched. He said the money oeiv
tas bed, and asked them how much more of that Sir
of money they had about them, which caused them to atten,
me their money, and he said some of that Court
deo bad. Pearson eubsequently took the Hou
to the station-house, but this was solely Ws own act, r a
defendant not having given them into curtody. Mr. for .
ordham and a man who was present were called to prove mast
facts. The last of these witnesses was asked in El
nomination what he was, and Ise said that he to pa
a cripple, (A laugh.) He could not do regular work, scam.
rat he got his living by doing a little piece of shoe-mending low
bleb he had picked out of his own head. (Laughter.) He reed
got jobs from the Duke of Wellington. S'
The jury found a verdict for the plaintiff as to the false im- be .