The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-04-03 00:00:00

SOUTH LANCASHIIIE ASSIZES,

CROWN v COURT.-_ESTERDAY,

This morning, at nine o'clock, Mr. Baron Martin took
his seat upon the bench, when the trial of prisoners was
resumed.

THE TOXTETH PARK MURDER.—John Ferguson, aged
23, labourer, was placed at the bar, charged, on an indict-
ment, for tEe wilful murder of Sarah Drummond, on the
21st of January last, in the borough of Liverpool. The
prisoner was also given hi charge to the jury on the
coroner's inquisition. On being brought up, the prisoner
cast a hasty glance round the co-art, and, having caught
sight of his mother, he burse into tears, and leaned hs
bead, buried in his hands, upon the rails in front of the
dock. In a few minutes he partially recovered his
self-possession, and drew forth from his pocket
a paper which he gave to the gaol official in attendance,
and by him it was handed to the prisoner's counsel, Mr.
Tindal Atkinson. Mr. Blair stated the ease for the prose-
cution, but the circumstances having been so recently and
so fully detailed, tl'eir repetition on this occ-)siosi is wholly
superfluous. The learned gentleman adverted to the cir-
cumstances on which a proof of malice prepense arose,
namely, that a few days previous to the sad catastrophe,
which ended in the death of the unfortunate woman, a
conversation had been heard between her and the prisoner,
in which the latter, in the midst of a quarrel, was heard
to declare that "he would cut her throat." The learned
counsel, after recapitulating the det,ils, said that, after they
had been supplied by evidence, it would he for the jury, under
his lordship's direction, to say whether the r.ri amonnted to
wilful murder,or ranged within the c....gory of manslaughter
Mary Williams (the prisoner's mother) was the f
called, and on her entering the witness box, ti
uttered a cry, and sank back on to a seat in the dock. Atter
he had been replaced in front of the bar, the exam;

tion of the witness, who was greatly affected, was proceeded
with by Mr. Blair. The witness proved that she lived at
No. 87, Prince William-street, Toxteth-park, and that she
knew the dccaased, Sarah Drummond, who lived in the
same house, and usually slept in the garret. The witness
slept in the kitchen. About four o'clock on the morning of
the 21st of January last, the prisoner went out, but returned
again about six o'clock, in company with the deceased.
There was no light in the room, but she heard the deceased
say to the prisoner she would dash his brains
out. The witness beard the prisoner go to the
cupboard and take out a basin, and there was a
struggle between them, during which she cried out " oh,
my
face."
She had a sore on her face at the time. When
she got up off the floor, she took hold of witness, who got
out of bed and obtained a light. Witness saw blood flowing
from her, and said " Sarah, are you hurt ?" She replied
" Yes, and that she would go to the hospital." The pri-
soner was lying on the floor, but got up and said he would
take her to the hospital. They went out together, the
prisoner supporting the deceased. In a short time he re-
turned and said, " Sally is dead, she dropped down dead at
the corner of Moor Street." The prisoner asked witness
for 211., saying i; was the last money he would ask her
for. She gave him the money, and he took leave of her
and her children and then went out. The witness after-
wards proceeded to the hospital, where she saw
the body of the deceased woman, Sarah Drummond,
lying a corpse The examination in chief having
closed, Mr. Tindal Atkinson said be did not wish to
agonise the feelings of the poor mother, by putting to her
any questions by way of erosfeexamination ; the more so
because on her evidence, it seemed to him, that the offence,
admitting, as he did, the facts, amounted only to the crime
of manslaughter. To that finding, the prisoner would
submit. Mr. Baron Martin was understood to intimate an
acquiescence in that opinion, but to desire that the case
should proceed. John Fall, police constable, proved that
he heard of the death of the deceased and apprehended, the
pris seer, whose person he knew, the some morning. He
searched him, but found no knife upon him. The prisoner
admitted that he had killed the woman, M'Culloch,
detective-officer, was next called, and proved the finding of
the knife r•roduced, in the " petty" of the house occupied
by the prisoner and his mother. Detective-officer Povey
identified the knife produced, as the property of the
prisoner at the bar, in whose possession he had found it on
a former occasion. The learned baron then said it was
clear, from the opening statement of the learned counsel
for the pi osecution, that the crime imputed to the prisoner
did not amount to murder, though it was manslaughter of
the deepest dye. It was quite clear that the unfortunate
young woman, the deceased, bad made use of violent lan-
guage, by threats, towards prison, r, but there was not any-
thing he could find in the depositions to show the existence
of malice prepense, which was essential to constitute the
mime of wilful murder. The deceased had made use of most
provoking language, and there was nothing to show that the
act which caused the death of the deceased had not ben
committed in the heat of passion and in hot blood
momentarily raised. It appeared in the depositions that
a detective officer had days before, overheard expressions
addressed by the prisoner to the deceased, to the extent of
threatening to cut her throat, or to cut her head off; but
expressions of that description were frequently used by
persons of the class cf to which both bele-
the existence of any serious iutention to carry the thrc
into effect. He must remark that it was most desirable
that means should be resorted to, in order to detect and
nunish crime, but those means ought to be of a proper
character. Those in the better walks of life were protected
from being overheard in the quarrels which may occur
between a man and his wife; but the humbler classes,
occupying, as they did, the cellars and other humble habi-
tations in this town, were not so protected, and he must
denounce publicly the system of any dsdective officer
applying his ear to the keyhole of the p weest habitation, and
adopting whatever might be overheard as evidence aifaiest an
individual on a future occasion. It the case had gone ou
the practice would have been publicly stated, and though
that was not the case, he thought it his d
to express his opinion upon it. In this case it was pt.
fectly clear that the unfortunate deceased had made use o,
provoking and irritating language, but there was no evi-
dence of the existence of that malice prepense which was
essential to constitute the crime of wilful murder. Under
such circumstances it would be the duty of the jury to
acquit the prisneer of the higher crime, and find him guilty
of the manslaughter. The jury considered for a few
seconds, and returned a verdict acquitting the pri-
soner of murder, but finding him guilty of man-
slaughter. The prisoner, on hearing the verdict, ap-
peared astounded, and resumed the manifestation of a
degree of fortitude, which, on his first presentation at the
bar, appeared wholly to have deserted him. The verdict
having been recorded, Mr. Baron Martin directed that the
mother and sister of the prisoner should be quietly removed
from the court. The order of the learned judge was com-
plied with, and the prisoner called up in the usual form to
receive judgment. Mr. Baron Martin, addressing the
prisoner, said : John Ferguson, you have been very pro-
perly convicted of the crime of manslaughter, and nc
person who has heard the evidence given by 3our own
mother, who, of course, though I do not wish to impute
falsehood to her, gave it in the most favourable manner, can
have any doubt that you have been guilty of a manslaughter
as nearly approaching to murder as it is possible.
In some cases, the offence of manslaughter con-
sists in small and unintended injuries, but I am sorry
that in your case the crime approaches as near to murder as
it is possible to conceive. It seems that you have been
living with this unfortunate young woman, and your coha-
bitation with her must have been known to all the inmates
of the house in which you lived. It seems that she came
home, after having been up all night, drunk, whereas you
were perfectly sobr ; and being in that condition, ought to
have protected her in that state. Instead of that, arose a
quarrel or misunderstanding between you. You were
guilty of a scandalous attack. You drew a knife from your
pocket. You opened it, and with that instrument you cut
the throat of the young woman whom you professed to love.
In cases of this kind, drunkenness is sometimes put forward
as an attempted excuse, You, however, were not drunk on
that morning, whereas the deceased was in that sad
condition ; and, instead of shielding her, you have
been guilfy of one of the wickedest acts any
man could commit. Under such circumstances
it is impossible for me to do otherwise than inflict upon you
the heaviest penalty, and the sentence I feel it my duty to
pronounce upon you is, that you be transported for the term
of your natural life. The prisoner, who, on hearing his
doom, roused himself from an apparent state of stupnur,
quitted the dock, with a light step, and exclaimed
" Thank you gentlemen."

geti, withot

uty thus publiCj

CoNsmitlov.—John Cross. aged 45, publican, James
Leyland, tailor, and Henry Farnworth, aged 47, sheriff's
officer, surrendered, in discharge of their hail, to an!swer
an indictment, charging them with conspiracy to defraud
Messsrs. Moxon, and other c,editors, of the defendant
Cross. Mr. Monk and Mr, Fearnley arearel for the
prosecutor, and in order to make the defendant Farnworth
a witness, declined to offer any evidence against him, and
accordingly, in his case, the Jury were directed to return a
verdict of acquittal. The case against the other defendant was
destitute of public interest, thou? h it occupied the attention
of the court for a very considerable time, The defendant,
Cross, a publican, at Bolton, had, besides being indebted to
the prosecutors for gooda supplied in the course of their
trade, obtained a loan of £7O to enable him to enter on
the occupation of another house, and when pressed for pay-
ment by Messrs. Moxon, contrived, with the assistance of
the other defendant, to render nugatory the proceedings
taken in the Manchester bankruptcy court, and, by means of
a fictitious deb', to sweep away the property. The counsel
for the defendants, Messrs. Fowler and Brett addressed the

jury, arguing that there was not sufficient evidence to con-
vict their clients of the offence imputed to them. His lord-
ship having summed up the evidence, the jury returned a
verdict of guilty against each of the prisoners, expressing
their regret that Farnworth, the sheriff's officer had escaped,
in which opinion the judge said he perfectly coincided, for
had ho been convicted before him he would have felt it most
heavily. The prisoners were then sentenced to fourbontbs
imprisonment with hard labour.

This concluded te criminal business for the days

NISI PRIUS COURT.—YESTERDAY.
Mr. Justice Wllles took his seat on the bench, this morn-
ing, shortly after nine o'clock,
LEvßlt v. WILLI4MSON._The plaintiff was a corn mer