The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-07-10 00:00:00

CHILD MURDEP

On Monday last, two females, a mother and her dattgietn
named respectively Eliz ibeth and Martha Guest, WMI
brought up on remand at the Penkridge petty sessions,
charged with the wilful murder of the illegitimate female
child of the latter prisoner, in May last, at Penkridge.
The accused are respectably connected, a daughter of the
elder prisoner being married to a highly respectable trades.
man at Liverpool. The facts are very briefly these :—a
About nine months ago, the younger prisoner lived in the
service of a respectable publican at Wolverhampton, named
Derry, a person between fifty and sixty years of age, whose
service she subsequently left in consequence of being ancients
by her master ; and when she was confined in February last,
s'ie was lodging at the house of a person named Whittall,
who also resided at Wolverhampton. About six weeks
after the birth of the child, Martha Guest went to reside
with her mother at Penkridge, who, she said was going to
take charge of the child, in consideration of a sum of £2O
to be paid by Derry, the reputed father. Previously to this
the child was healthy ; but a short time afterwart;=, Martha
Guest was met in Wolverhampton by a woman narn,;.4
Dyer, who lived with Whittal, and, in reply to ei quiries,
she stated that the child was poorly. Dyer said she
should come over and see the child if it did not gee
better; but on the following Saturday evening, a letter
was written by the elder prisoner to Dyer, et.ting that !ha
child and mother had gone to Liverpool. Notwithstanding
this Dyer proceeded to Penkridge on the following Wednes-
day, May 21st, and was there told by the tollgate keeptir
that Martha Guest's child was dead and buried. It farther
appeared on investigation that the child was interred on the
previous Friday, the day on which the letter was written,
stating that Martha Guest had taken it to Liverpool. On
going to Guest's house she saw the prisoner Martha there ;
Dyer abstained from atludiug to the child, mil taking a
walk with ber in the fields, when she began to cry, and
leaning on the arm of Dyer admitted it was dead ; adding
that she should have told Whittal, and got him to make
the coffin, but her mother would not let her. At Whittal's
instigation, the body was exhumed, and an inquest was
held upon it, before Mr. W. W. Ward, coroner. The
medical gentlemen who made the post mortem examination
declared death to have resulted from a blow inflicted on the
back of the child's head. The whole of the evidence
against the prisoners having been adduced. the magistrates
committed them for trial at the ensuing assizes at Stafford,
on the charge of wilful murder. The elder prisoner was
much affected, and fainted during the proceedings. The
investigation lasted about ten hours, after which both
prisoners were conveyed in custody to Stafford gaol.

PARIS, Wednesday.—M. Fortoul, the Minister of
Public Instruction and Worship, has died suddenly
at Ems. •

APPROACHING MARRIAGE IN moil LIPE.—It is stated
that Henry Drummond, M.P., is about to lead to the
hymeneal altar tho Hon. Miss Gifford, the daughter of the
first Baron Gifford.

THE SHIPWRIGHTS' STRIKE.—On Monday, Wm. Sainty,
a shipwright, was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment,
by Mr. Yardley, for having violated an agreement which he
had entered into with the Messrs. Young.
THE POLISH AMNESTY RECENTLY GRANTED BY TIM
EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.—Some fiva or six thousand Pole!
have availed themselves of the amnesty to return to their
country; but amongst these there are no names of note.

THE AMERICAN SWELL Mon.—On Tuesday, at the
Central Criminal Court, Oscar Kingston and Benjamin
Allen Howard, the two American hotel robbers, who were
convicted on Monday of the robbery at the Great Northern
Hotel, was brought up for judgment, and sentenced to five
years' penal servitude,

MInAmE RACHEL.—We read in a letter from Paris
Mademoiselle Rachel is still a great sufferer from the
effects of Tier excursion to the United States ; her ph3sical
debility is so great that rest and diet have failed to recruit
her strength. It is not thought that she can re-appear on
the stage for a long time to come." On Saturday, Mdlle.
Rachel left Paris for Ems.

The Gazette states that a despatch from Her Majesty's
Consul, at Malaga, report that all vessels arriving from
ports in the United Kingdom will be subjected to •
quarantine of three days, unless provided, in addition to
the ordinary bill of health, with a certiEcate from the
Spanish Consul at the port of departure, declaring that
all due sanitary precautions are enforced at such port.
PRIVATE BILLS IN PARLIAMENT.—It is shown by a return
just published by order of the House of Commons, that the
total amount of fees received on private bills in the session
of 1855 was £42,865 ; in 1854, £61,251 ; in 1853,
<£75,566 ;
in 1852, £42,352 ; in 1851, £37,470 ; in 1850, £30,823 ;
in 1849 £21,292 ; and in 1848, £45,817. The amount
expended for such salaries and expensEs at the House of
Commons as were formerly defrayed out of the Fee Fund
was in 1855-56, £49,308, against £52,942 in the preceding
year.

We have great pleasure in announcing that Col. Dieu,
the French engineer officer who served with so much dis-
tinction with the Turkish army in the campaign on the
Danube, and took part in the gallant defence of Silistria,
is still alive, and has returned in good health from the
Crimea. It will be remembered that his supposed un-
timely death served Lord Panmure as the theme of some
well-turned expression of regret in a speech delivered by
him in the House of Lords. and it also prevented his
being included among the French officers honoured with
the decoration• of the Bath. This omission will be, of
course, repaired.
NON-PUNCTUALITY OF RAILWAY TBAINS.-011 Thurs..
day, at the County Court, Huddersfield, Mr. J. Le Blanc
sued the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company for
£2 6s. lOid. expenses and loss, consequent upon one of
their trains being late on the 29th May last. Mr. Le
Blanc was booked on the morning of that day, at the
railway station, Huddersfield, for Burnley. The train,
which should have left Huddersfield at 6 25 a.m., did not
leave until 6 55. On its arrival at Mirfield it was dis-
covered that the train from Burnley had proceeded for-
wards, and Mr Le Blanc, seeing that he was prevented
from fulfilling his engagement (at Clitheroe), returned to
Huddersfield and telegraphed to that effect to Clitheroe.
He wrote two letters to Captain Benstead, the company's
manager, demanding compensation, and after the second
was offered 4s. Mid., being the amount paid for his ticket
and for telegraphing. When the present action was com-
menced the railway company paid 10s. and the expenses
into court. His Honour did not consider that sufficient,
and mado an order for 21a. and weasel;