The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-04-11 00:00:00

WITCHCRAFT IN THE NINETEENTH CEirruar.

The following are some of the particulars of an applica-
tioa made to a magistrate no longer than November last,
by one "J. 8.," a, respectable man, farming about forty
acres of land in Hockham, one of the rural parishes of
England :—J. B. :, Your worship, I come to ask your
advice concerning my wife. Mr. : What's the matter?
J. B.: Why, your ve'orehip, she's harassed about night
and day—continually worrying—like wind' teasing her
stomach, and like a- sow with all her young pigs a-pulling
her to pieces. Mr. ---: I don't see. what I can do' for
that: Why don't you-send for a doctor ? J. B.: Dator,
sir? We've been to all the doctors about. We've spent
every shilling: to get remedy. All my family knows it,
phi dears. We're wholly done up. • Mr. : Still I-
don4t gee how, I caa help .you. J. B.: Well, sir, it's
thought. by many people in the parish that my wife's
bewitched; that its, pat Upon her by evil disposed persons
through envy. There's a family named who got
turned out when we was put in, and wee think it's through
them that they set old Mrs C. to do it. Mr. Who
is' Mrs. C. ? : She's an old woman, earn' worship,
who live near the Lion, arid she have the character of
being a witch, 'and I thoegbt I'd step down and ask your
weeehip whether•you would give me a grant to have her •
proved. Mr, ---: HOw is she to be proved ? J. B.:,
Whyrsir, I thought you could have her swum. I've heard
say that, if they be witched, and if you take a line (not to
do them any harm, but just lo swim 'rem), then, if they be
witches they won't sink. I've heard say that there was a
gentleman at -- who had one swum in the river. I don't
know exactly how it finished, but I heard she didn't live
long after It. He had it done right public. Her name was.
Pointer. They tied her clothes about her legs and used
her decent. She had a• line put round her waist, and one
on each side, to keep her from sinking if she was an
upright woman ; but if she's a witch they can't sink her
no how. Old Mr. L—, ;Otto dune it, jumped on her, but
couldn't sink her no how; when- her head was down her
heels was up, and when her heels' was do •-vn her head was
up. They do say, your worship, that sic folks are
increased about in the world, and if you have so many as
even one in this or any other parish, they do a sight of
harm. Almost every one who sees my wife says they
never seed such a complaint, and call out that she is cer-
tainly bewitched. She fare (appear) hunted night and
day. She fare dried up like a crisp. She say Will I
can't lie still—llmight as well try to sink a bladder in water.
I do hope you worship will grant the palace to take old
Mrs. C. all of a sudden—by surprise like—and take her to
a pit, and swim her (not to hurt her). If she' an upright
woman she'll sink, an 1 if she don't sink it'll prove her
guilty. (After an argument, in which the magistrate in
vani endeavoured to combat the absurdity of the foregoing
statement). J. B. (returning to the ch.irge): Well, your
worship, at least I hope you'll take her to a room, and
have her stripped and see if she have anything bad about
her. Mr. --- : What is she likely to have bad about her ?
J. B : Why, sir, some say that they have imps about them,
but I don't know. Mr. : What is an imp? J. B.: I
don't know, sir, unless it be some bad spirit or other from
the power of old Satan, but I never seed one. Mr. --:
But nosy us why von fix upon this poor old woman
Mrs. C. in particular? 3. B.: I'll tell your worship how
we come at it. My wife was advised to send for the
woman of --, who is wonderful clever in these
things. She came and told us to take some particular
liquid and put it in a bottle with some of the hairs out of
the noddle of my wife's neck, and the parings of her finger
, nails and toe nails (these we cut quite close) and some old
horseshoe nails. (These, you see, sir, are little schemes
which go from one generation to another, there'S alway's
something to be learned out of the weakest and igno-
rantest). Well, sir, we put the bottle on the fire, and we
waits while its boiling' and burning, and what not; and
when it bursts we looki out of the window. sad the evil-
disposed person stands before us. Last Friday night was
a month that my wife did this ; and after she done it she
got out of bed, eas 'she do sometimes, to take a drop of
drink or a little magnesia, and she looked out of the
window, and there she saw the woman C— standing
before the window, at a most unsealable hour, in the
moonlight, in an agony sort of state. A. Mrs. F—, a
woman residing in the adjoining parish, also bore the
following testimony to the power of the "Evil One:" The
Lord he only know all about these things ; but I know,
this, sir, that when I was a girl there was a witch lived
next door to us, and afraid enough we was of her. Mr.
: What did she do? Mrs. F.: Her name was Betsy
, Norris. She bewitched my father's cows and pigs and
geese, and other people's, too, when they offended her.
All the farmers were afraid of her, and gave her anything
she asked for ; if not, she could make all their things run
wild over the yard, and could fill them with lice, which
went and came according as she were pleased or not. The
first 'of my father finding her out was 'one, day when she
cut up his onions. Re went after her and said he would
"'spurn her." • He gave her a kick, but he never felt
nothing for his toe ; his foot sunk in as if she wa'at, made
of nothing human ; and yet, when he kicked her, that
there old woman flew yards and yards. And then, when
he went home, my father found his pigs bewitched. They
was barking and Jumping all over the stye. My father
cut a piece off their ears and tails, and raked them up in
the fire, and told my mother to go upstairs, and to be sure
not to speak to the witch if she should come. The witch
came hallooing to the door, asking my mother for some
rags. She bad her 'fingers cut all across, and bleeding
dreadful. Mr. —: Who cut her fingers?' Mr's. F--:
Why, sir, the enemy caused her to do that herself when
my Sather stirred the pigs' tails and ears in the tire, and
told my mother to go upstairs. Then that wrought upon
her, and she 9ut her fingers in that there dreadful' way.
My Mother was a muir-hearted woman, and as the witch
stood screaming and begging for rags my mother looked
' out of the window and gave her some rags and spoke to
tier. By so doing-
my mother gave the power out of her
own hands, and the witch got the power again ; whereas,
if my mother had not spoken to her she would have gone
home and died. Ah ! sir, as I said before, there's the
mistake—to speak to them.

REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON

PUBLIC PRINTING.

The report "of the select committee of the (late) House of
Commons, on printing, has been published, and is worthy
of,attention, as containing several i•nportent and valuable
suggestions. The committee quote largely from the report
of the printing committee of 1841, and recommend the
attention of the house to their resolutions,, which have been
carried out from that period with partial success. This
committee (of 1841) thought 'that further means ought to
be taken for improving the forms of motion for returns,
and to ensure compliance with the orders made thereon.
The committee therefore suggested-,--1. That enery member
be recommended, .before giving notice of motion fOr a
return, to consult Mr. Varrion, the excellent librarian of
the House, of Commons, 2. That, after the house has
made an order for a return, the librarian do prepare a form
to be submitted to Mr. Speaker for his approval, such form
to be forwarded with the order in the usual way. ":3. That,
before any return presented to the house shall be ordered
to be printed, it shall bo inspected by Mr. Vardon, and
approved by the Speaker; and, 4, That the Sneaker do
make such arraneements as may be necessary for giving
effect to these resolutions. The committee proceed to'
report that since the control of the Speaker has been
exercised, and the valuable assistance of Mr. Vardon
afforded as.superietendent of the printing, a gradual di,ni-
nution in the expenso of printing hes taken pl ,ce, egaiva-
lent to a reduction from £3O 244 (in 1840) to £20,445 (in
1856). Another valuable suggestion was the abstracting of
bulky papers, so as to give the results to the house; and
£57,384 hais been saved by so doing since the session of
1845. The details of the expensive and bulky books con
taining the reporfs and evidence of commissioners are often
very uninteresting, and are probably unread by all but a
fete indefatigable parliamentary bookworms. A table or
284 pages appears in the,uppendix of V 4. IP to the report
on wine duties, "on the vattings of wine in the docks ;"
yet of this Mr. M'Ctilloch beli vAI that no sane person had
ever read a line, or ever would : and yet 1,750 copies of
this rubbish were printed and circulated at the expense of
the public. The mode of obviating this abuse was pointed
out by the committee of 1841—viz., by conferring extended
and diseretioaary powers on the printing committee, espe-
cially as regards the publication of, " evidence," and
" appendices" to reports. The sale ,of parliamentary
papers has, it appears, averaged .an • armed_ net amount of
£4 000 by sale and waste. It is recommended thrt the
Tcersury lay, on the table, with the estimates, a diEtinct
account of the amount of printing expenses executed under
be authority of each Secretary of State or Public Depart-
ment, and
.by either house of parliament.- Tile' late
committee consisted of Mr. G. A. Hamilton, Mr: Greene,
Mr. Beckett, Mr. Wilson. Mr. Divett; Mr. GaSkell, Mr.
V. Smith,.Mr. •Estcourt, and Mr. Bonham Carter.

TREES IN IRELAND.--A. parliamentary return, issued
to-day, shows that 2,678,856 trees have been registered
as planted in Ireland, during the last ten years.
DEATH BY POISON.—An old lady, the head of a re-
spectable family, residing in the vicinity of Antrim road,
was taken to the General Hospital, on Saturday night, in
consequence of having swallovvecl an over dose Of laudanum,
but whether accidentally or otherwise is not yet known.
She died 'on Sunday morning.--Belfast News Letter.
FILENCII COMPANIES.--"Flee' annual meetings of Share-
holders in the Chief Industrial Companies are stormy, since
they have lost the unlimited confidence formerly placed by
them in the directors. Every shareholder puts on his
spectacles, and looks close at the reports.. At the meeting
of the gas company, the directors required a further supply
of funds from the shareholders, who protested that their
eompany enjoyed a monopoly, that its affeirs appeared
flourishing,' and the necessity of an augmentation of Capital
should have been sooner made known to them. S.), there
was an explosion at the,gas meeting. Messrs. Marguerrite
and Pereire, the principal directors, were violently
examined. The first was so affrightel that his health has
since suffered ; .but the latter, more callous to such matters,
replied very calmly, •‘ He is a Jew ;" and„ one of the
enraged shareholders having cried out, " But, sir, do you
want to eat us up ?" " No, sir," replied Pereire, ", My
religion forbids me."