Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

case :--

" From what I have seen of the informations (said his
lordship), which it was my duty to look into, I have to
tell you that this case is ono in which you will be called
on to find a bill not upon the direct testimony of anybody
who has seen the transaction, which is charged to be a
wilful murder, but by a chain of circumstantial evidence
—a chain of facts—which will be presented to you as
establishing by presumptive evidence the guilt of the
prisoner. That sort of evideace, gentlemen, is not only
proper, and legal, and allowable, but in same respects
perhaps it may be considered as a firmer basis upon
which to come to a conclusion than simply the direct
evidence of a witness who has witnessed the fact. A
witness may be deceived, or may err, oe may desire to
deceive; but a 'long train or chain of circumstances or
facts, established by the testimony of a number of wit—
nesses, all tending to furnish the same conclusion and to
lead to the same ultimate inferences, must not only from
the number of witnesses whose credit is committed, but
also from the wider range and nature of the examination,
give a greater opportunity of a full and ample investi-
gation of the case, and of any defence that may ariso in
the face of the proceeding. You are placed under great
difficulty, for, although this is a case of the nature I
have mentioned, you will not have the • benefit of hearing
the e".cement of connsel upon the circumstances by which
the case is to be made out; you will not have the means
from the informations—for they are not to go up to you—
of knoWing what are the particulars of the case, or the
order in which you should examine into these particulars,
and therefore it has occurred to me to make a few obese.
vations merely to the extent of suggesting to you the order
in which it appears to me convenient for you to enter
upon and pursue the investigation of this case. The first
and moat earnest observation I should make to you is,
that you will divest your minds of everything that you
may have heard or read. respecting this charge. No
evidence will be tendered to you which will not be legal
and proper for you to receive, and if through inadver-
tence or any other cause evidence may have crept into
the case from any former stage of it upon which any
question could be raised, that evidence will not be ten-
dered to you. The course which, as it strikes me, is
proper for you to pursue, is to begin by ascertaining, ie
the first instance, the condition of the case, so as to
ascertain whether the death of the deceased party was
caused by violence, and the nature of the' violence as
tending to indicate by the assistance of competent judges
on that point the nature of the weapons by which the
violence was inflicted ; for in the progress of the case

it may be of the utmost importance that you should be
apprised beforehand that probable evidence of the T 1 rture
of the weapon by which the crime was committed, if tend_
ing more or less to bring the prisoner into connection
with these weapons, is one of the circumstances, or
matters of fact in the chain of circumstances, most
material for your consideration. Having ascertained the
cause of the death of the deceased, and the manner of it,
and the important matter of identification that I have
alluded to, you will then, I think, properly proceed to
ascertain the persons who last saw the deceased alive.
They will, of course, be produced before you. They will
give you an opportunity of fixing a point of time most
material. And then, gentlemen, I think the next impor-
tant point to which your attention should be directed, is
the way of access to the room where the deceased was
feu.ud, 'anclihe ways of escape from that room. That, it
is reasonable to expect, may be a very important eon-
i=ideratlon in the progress of the case. It wilt become
very important with respect to the prisoner. It may
,appear to 'you (I am merely putting the case hypotheti-
cally, for you will take the evidence of the witnesses as
it appears to-yourselves) necessary to ascertain whether
these were not means by which other persons—stran-
gers—may 'nave approached to or may have escaped
from that room, so as not to fix your attention on any one,
and to say that you will exclude from your consideration
the possibility of other ways of approach or escape.
You will next direct your attention to the property that
may be brought before, you as having been found in or.
taken from the room at the time of the marder..... The
identification of the body. will be one of the faCts raa%hiring
your careful consideration, as will also he the circum-
stance under which it was found in a particular place, and
everything relating to the condition in which it was so
.found as tending to. bring it more or -less in connection
with the prisoner. Yon will confiae the witnesses to the
matters of fact. You will not receive from them inferences
or suspicions ; it will be for yourselves to draw the
inferences from the facts that will be proved before you.
There will also be produced to you weapons alleged to
have been used in the -Commission of the crime. and you
will attentively consider as material any evidence that
may tend to bring them more or less in connection with the
Tiesoner. When you haie aseertained. ,bY . satisfactory
.evideace, these various circumstances, upon which you
.will found your, inferences, it will be for you to say whether
these circumstances, all taken together, do furnish enough
ofproof in your minds satisfactorily to repel the presump-
tion of innocence to which every prisoner is entitled. The
law presumes: every man to, by innocent, and you, must do
all in this case until the presumption is satisfactorily
rethoved by a• chain of evidence repelling that presumption
of innocence. But, if upon a consideration of all the fads
and circumstances, your judgments and eonaciences are
led to the conviction of the- guilt of the accused, you are
not only allowed by laie, but you are bound by your oaths,
to find true bills." At fiVE: minutes to four o'clock the city
grand jury came into court, and the fereman anaounced
that they had found a true bill against James Spollen for
the murder of Mr. Little. Spoken U 41.3 immediately after-
wards placed in the dock for the purpose of being formally
arraigned. Instead of the working, man's attire which he
wore when undergoing the preliminary examination before
•the magistrate, he was dressed in a. blue frock coat, dark
vest and trousers, and altogether presented a very neat
and clean appearance. He advanced rapidly to, the bar
of the dock,, looked steadily towards the bench fora short
time, and thee glanced somewhat hurriedly round that
section of the court' which was in front of him, but did
not, during the short time he remained in, court, betray
any symptoms of uneasiness. The Clerk of the Crown
then formally indicted him for having, on the 33 of
November, 1856, at the Broad-stone, wilfully murdered
,George Samael Little, and asked him if ho were guilty or
tot ? The prisoner, h a iow' but• perfectly audible voice.
replied Not Guilty.' Clerk of the Crown*- Are you
ready for your trial? Prisoner: Yes, Sir. After some
discussion, it was arranged that the trial should coin"
mence at the sitting of the Court on Friday. Mr. Curran :
I have now to apply to your lordships that the sheriff
may be allowed to give us a copy of the panel. I under-
stand there is a very large panel summoned. We have
information that certain gentlemen expressed such
opinions on the case as would be a ground for challenging
them, and the object of the application is to facilitate the
selection of a jury. -Mr. Corballis said there could be no
objection to allowing any one acting for the prisoner to
inspect the panel in the sheriff's office; but that it was asi
unusual application to ask to have a copy furnisfrad.
The Chief Justice remarked that he did not se'i the
difference between allowing a party to go into 0.,e dace
to get a copy for himself and furnishing it to hirj. Et was
then directed by the Court that the parties
'representing
the prisoner should have liberty to. inspeo% the panel and
take a copy of it. The Right Hon. the Attorney-General
entered the Court-house in undrese. while the grand
juries were being sworn, and 00'mpied a seat on the

register's bench during the charge of the Lord Chief
Justice. The prisoner was then removed. ,
THE TRIAL.
By _British and Irish Magnetic Telegraph.
The anxiously expected Wel of James Spollen, the
railway servant, charged with the brutal mur ler of Mr
Little, in.. November last, at the Broadstone Terminus.
commenced-this morning• From an early hour the Court
house presented an excited scene in consequence of the
state of the public, who were admitted by special tickets,
to procure seats, from which the prisoner could be
viewed. A. tew ladies of highly respectable appearance
occupied the- county grand jury box. On the witness
table the prosecution had a large and splendid model
of the railway premises, including several portions
of those to which reference would be necessary
in :explaining the position of the lamented deceased's
office, the various modes of ingress and egress to this
apartment, and in tho places in which the sums of money
recovered through the information of Mrs. Spollen, were
cunningly hidden. The model will add greatly to specta.
tors' interest during the trial. At ten minutes past
eleven Chief Justices Lefroy and Moriaghan took their
seats upon the bench, when the Clerk of the Crown
directed the prisoner to be produced. He walked up the
steps leading to the dock with great deliberation. No
visible change had taken place in his exterior, except in
dress. The white baragon jacket which he had worn
hitherto has been exchanged for a neat blue frock
coat. His eye seldom wandered from the bench,
but when the scrutinised was being called he several
times glanced around.. The jury having been empan
celled, the clerk of the Crown gave the prisoner in charge
on the indictment of the murder. The clerk of the Crown
having read the indictment, the Attorney-General rose,
and, in a speech of three hours duration, recapitulated

the facts of the case. The first witness called was Mr.
Franklin, who had prepared the model exhibited in court.
His examination was principally confined to the state-
ment respecting its correctness. Mr Curran endeavoured
to prove that its measurements were faulty, but the
iiitness explained away the objections raised. Mr.
Chamberlain was next examined, an identified Mr.
Little's handwriting on the paper, which contained the
monies renal by Mrs. Sdo'len's directions, after which
die court rose until to—m irrow mor&ng. The case is not
expected to be closed before Tuesday or Wednesday.

CHEST ER ASSIZ ES.—YEsr, EDAY.

'HE TILSTON MURDER.-CONVICTION OF THE

PRISONER

Mr. Justice Crowder took his seat in the Crowe Court
yesterday morning, at nine o'clock, when
John B'agg, 47, shoemaker, was indicted for leasing, on
the 16:h April last, murdered John Bebbington, at Tilston
Fearnall. Thep isoner plea led not guilty The prosecu-
tion was conducted by Mr. Meeintyre and Mr. Gifford,
the defence by Mr Brandt and Mr. Wood. Mr. Macin-
tyre, in opening the case, observed that the evidence
against the prisoner was circumstantial. The facts
were that the murdered man, Bebbington, was
the gamekeeper of Mr. Corbett, of Tilstone
Hall, and the prisoner was a shoemaker, resi-
ding at Alpraham. On the morning of the 16th
April, the deceased left his house between three and
four o'clock, and was never seen alive afterwards. At
five on the following morning the body of the deceased,
which had been shot, was found lying on the left side in
a field. The circumstances connecting the prisoner with
the murder were that two sets of footmarks were found
near the d-ceased ; one set corresponded with the boots
worn by the deceased ; the other set, it would be proved,
corresponded with the boots worn by the prisoner ; they
were found on the other Bide of the hedge from the de-
ceased, and these were tracked over several fields in the
direction of prieor er's house, and to within a short distance
of it. Two witnesses would prove that they had heard
two shots fired in the direction where the body was found.
Another witness, lodging in prisoner's house, would prove
that, on coming down at five o'clock in the morning of the
16th, he noticed that the prisoner's boots and hat were
not in their place, and the door was unbolted ; soon after five
prisoner came in with.his boots and hat on, but apparently I
without his gun. That, however, was of no conseqhence, as
it would be shown that prisoner was in the habit of taking
his gun in pieces and carrying it in his pocket. Other
witnesses had seen the prisoner that morning passing
along in the direction where the boot ma la were found.
From the body of the deceased, shet, wadding; wire, arc.,
were extracted, which had belonged to one of Eley's car-
tridges, of 16 bore; the prisoner, it would be proved, had
about a month previously purchasei some' f Eley's car
tridges of the same size; he had also made use of threats
against the deceased, whom, he had declared, he would
sheet Having stated these facts, Mr MScintere called
the first witness. Catherine aßebbingtone wife of th
decanted, who said that on Thursday morning, the 16 h of
April she was in bed wilt her husband ; on looking at
the clock she saw it was twenty minutes past three ; told
her husband the time, and went to sleep.; on getting up
ehortly before five, she found he had left the home; his
gun had gene ; on the following Saturday he was brought
home dead. Cross-examined : The clock was kept by the
clock at Tilstone Hall, generally at railway time. Thomas
Cheeters said that on Thursday morning, the 16 h, he was
going to work at Mr. Sheen's, and was crossing one of his
master's fields ;' he found deceased's body lying on the left
side near the cop.; his gun was ling a yard off; witness
went and informed his master.. Csoss-examined: De-
ceased lay with his face to the hedge, and his legs hang-
ing over the ditch ; he was lying in a corner of the
field, where two hedges cross each other. John Sheen,
fermer, Tilstone, recollected the last witness telling him
that Bebbingeon was dead;; saw.the body; found the de-
caae:d's gun ; both barrels were iambi, and the lonics
were on half cock ; at ten o'clock the same morning, he,
tsgether with Superintendeat McDermott 'tracked some
foot marks in the wheat field next the field where the
body was found ; there were the footmarks of two par-
sons ; one set corresponded wi h a boot belonging to
deceased, brought by constable Kearns ; the nearest
marks were about five yards. from the body, near a
gap in the hedge, the lather set of marks they
traced across the wheat field, and over several
fields to a gateway leading; into sandy Lane, where
there were the bootenarks of several persons, and all
traces were lost; the footme.rks followed were those of one
person ; at -one place, therewas a toe mark where the
'Sargon had crept through.the hedge ; all these marks lay
in the direction of the prisoner's house ; saw ?kerns put a
boot belonging to the prisoner near a footmark in the
wheat field e. it was a very, nerfect impression, and corres-
ponded with the boot.. Cross-examined e Had had no
experience iu tracing footmarks. Behbington's foot-
marks showed that ha had got over a gap in the
hedge, opposite 'the- place where his.body was found,
and the other fcritanserke showed that the other person,
had come- up to. the hedge ; the footmarks of
Bebbington and the ether person, came from different
directions. Francis M'Dermott, sop,erintendent of police,
on receiving information went; to the spot where the body
lay ; about ten or twelve yards from that spot, in the 'ditch
of t"e wheat field, found some petrifies) feathers, and a
large quantity about ten 'yards further ; they wore very
clean ; there was a faint impression of footmarks in the
ditch ; went to prisoner's house and told him that he
suspected him of the death of John Eebbington ;
prisoner said it was not so ; a Iced him the time he had
got up on the previous day; did not caution him; prisoner
replied between sire and seven o'clock ; founa the prisoner's
gun on the bed ; it wez a double barrel,, and was loaded
and cocked ; prisoner pointed out 'some pasteboard wads
in a drawer, which he said were the. sort he used; took
away a boot, which, he compared with the marks in. the
fields, and found to correspond, more particularly about
the heel 4, by the ?number of nails; near one of the f ot-
marks found part of a wad, which appeared exactly like
those found at the prisoner's house. Oa drawing the
charges out of priesener's gun, found No. 4 shot, like the
shot in prieorger's shot-belt, Cross-examined : The
charges were not Eley's cartridges. Two of the foot-
marks in the field were very distinct, and al-,o one at
the gate leading into Sandy-lane; there was a great
number of enerke of which he felt uncertain ; had
bad experience in tracking footsteps; compared the
marks wit:o, boot, by making an impression with the boot
on the side of the mark. Prisoner was a shoemaker, but
witness, did not believe that he made many boots for other
nerssiav, i Thomas Cawley, laed agent, give evidence that
he had accompanied the constables in tracing the foot-
marks; and that a very careful comparison of the impres-
-BiOY3/, with the prisoner's boot had been made; there had
berm a frost, and from his experience he had no doubt
9.nat these footmarks had been made on the previous
day ; found a piece of paper under deceased's body, and
gave it to Kerns. Cross examined: There had been a
thaw. Did not count the nails ; the land was not of a pro-
per consistency at all parts to take the im?ression, bat
where the heel had slipped, there were vary clear impres-
sions. Never said he would hang the prisoner without a
trial. James Kerns, constable, compared the two tracks
in the fields with the boots of deceased and prisoner, and
found them to correspond ; the tracks of the latter ap-
peared like those of a person beating for game, and came
np to the feathers found in the ditch ; in 'the other tracks
counted 22 nails in the impression, the same number as
in the prisoner's boot ; found a felt wad in the prisoner's

waistcoat, and in his coat a piece of brown paper,
marked 16 G. 4. Witness produced the prisoner's boot,
gun, a coat, in the porkcts of wh ch the gun,
when taken into two pieces, could be easily carried,
also another coat wi h large pockets; found in the house &-
quantity of game nets Ind rabbit traps ; at the post mortem
examination received from the surgeon a quantity of shot,
a small'piece cf wire, and some blood; in the blood wit-
ness foUnd a felt wad; produced the deceased man's coat,
the sheet had entered at the back. John C Foulker, sur-
geon, Barnbury, made a past rn rterfa examination of the
body of the deceased; found a 'gunshot wound in the
back, under the left shoulder blade ; death must have been
instantaneouce the heart being shattered; found about SCa
shot, a niece of wire, and some wadding in the wound.
James Vicker's lodged in the house of the prisoner
and his Wife ; . was up the latest on the night
of t° Kith, end bolted the outer door; got up neat morn-
ing at fear o'clock, and found the door unbolted ; did not
see the prisoner's -het and boots in the places where he
kept them; about five o'clock saw the prisoner in the yard
with his hat on. Thomas Hepell said : About five o'clock
on the morning of the 16 h, he heard two guns fired one
after the other; the reports were in the direction of the
place where deeemed was found. William Widiame, about
the same time, heard two shots fired in the same direction ;
in ten or fifteen minutes saw the prisoner walking to
his own house, and from the direction where the body
was found. Richard Garnett, druggists' assistant, recol-
lected selling., prisoner two dozen Eley's green wire,
cartridges, No. 10 bore, and No. 4 shot. James Hunt,
foreman at Mr. Eley's cartridge manufactory, London,
said that the piece of b •own paper hand in prisoner's
oat, was a cover of Eiey's cartridges, 16 page: the piece
of paper found under deceased's body by Cawley was part
of the case of one of Eley's cartridges; the piece of wire
found by the .surgeon was similar to the wire used in the
framework; the wads used in Eley's cartridges were made
of woven cloth, and the wad found in the blood was the
same. Enoch-Young, Inspector of Weights and Measures,
Terporley, had weigh d 20 grains of shot given him by
Kerns, against 20 taken from one of Etey's cartridge, la
guage, No. 4 shot, and found them equ sl. James Kerns
ra a'led, ,said that ho gave 20 shots to the last witness
which he had received from the surgeon, Mr. rou'kes.
Capt. Alfred J. Garnett, had made several experimeets
with Eley's cartridges and at five yards distance from
some cloth, had produced a similar hole to that in
deceased's coat. George Hunt, labourer, said that about
a fortnight befo,e the inquest on the body of the
deceased, he had seen the prisoner at Mrs. Williams'
public house, and heard him say that he ;would shoot
Bobbing on the first time he had .a chance ; had heard
him say the same again on another occasion. Cross-
' examined : Prisoner was always drunk when he used theta
threats. Ann Stockton, had been in service at Mrs.
William's public house, and had heard prisoner curse
Corbett, and would put a thorn in Bab,ington's gap.
George Walley, on the morning of the 16th of April
about five o'clock, saw the prisoner going along the turn-
pike road. Peter Smith, had known the prisoner for
twenty years ; prisoner told him that Bebbington had
taken his gun from him; knocked h m down, and
abused him; this was about. two years before Rob-
bington's death ; he also said that if deceased
offered to do the like again he would shoot him;
told him he must not use such language, or he would get
into " lumber," he replied " lumber bed—d, I mean it,
shoot him, if ever I have a chance." William Lowe,
gaumaker, Chester, proved the bore of prisoner's gun to
be No. 16. Charles Vickers, a witnes who had been called
in the early part of the case, but whose recognizances were
forfeited, because he did not appear, was examined after
Mr. Brandt had commenced to address the jury for the
defence ; he stated that he did not appear because he had
,been threatened ; he said that on the morning of the 161 h,
he was gathering tresses in a field called Springbank,
and saw the prisoner in it, going towards Bandy Lane.
,The cross-examination showed thlt this witness had been
frequently "in trouble" and did not bear the best of
characters. Mr. Brandt then addressed the jury f,r the
defence, and commented at great length on the evidence,
which he contended was fall of discrepancies, and was of
the weakest character against the prisoner.. His lordship,
in summing up, recapitulated the evidence, and impressed
upon the jury the necessity of considering every fact in
he case for the preeecuti•-n, depending as it did, entirely
upon circumstantial evidence. The summing-up lasted two
h ,urs. The jury retired, and after an absence of fire and
wenty minutes returned with a verdict of -" Guiery" His
Lordship then put on the black cap, and said— Tohn
Blagg, after a patient and anxious investigation of, your
case, you have been found guilty of murder, and in that
verdict I entirely,concur. Actuated by, revenge, . which
long rankled in your breast, you ,found the opportunity
you sought, and launched your victim into wernity without
a moment of preparation. For this you have forfeited
your life, and 1-can hold out no hope of mercy to you on
this side of the world.. His Lordship then advised the
prisoner to seek the comforts and consolations of religion,
and passed sentence of death in the usual form., The
prisoner throughout the trial maintained a perfeclly
demeanour,.

LONDCMAND NORTH WI3FERN RAILWAS.—The report,
of the directors to presented at the half-yearly meeting
which will be held on Friday, the 14th inst., which is just

issued, states that the income from the passengert,m &-c
and slim from merchandise, for the half yea ending Jane
30, amounts jointly to £1,553 518, showing an increase on.
the corresponding half, year, in 183'3, of £65,895. The
working expenses for the past half year h tve. been
£62.1,847, being an increase on the previous six months
of 234,447. The directors report that the prAts of

the past half-year bay,: ,been I-;72 332 14s. 5(1., and,
that they are consequently enabled to recovsmend a dividend
at the rate of £5 per cent. per annum. The affairs of the
company are gone into at considerable length iritthe :report,
which states that the progress made in the cons ruction of
new branches is satisfactory. The loss to be borne by
'revenue owing to the fire at the Cimien station is stated
to be £14,000, towards which there is £B,OOO at the credit
of the insutance:fand. AppendA to thA reporvisalengthened
correspondence• in reference to the Manchester. Sheffield,
and Lincolnshire Company's breach of agreement.
Nnw INVENTION IN LoeMs.—Oa Tuesday (says the
Blackburn ,Wndard), we saw at the house of Mr amjamin
Croasdale, of Pigeos Hall, Wilton, the applieation.of a new
rar,tive -power fo• the propulsion of looms for weaving
hair-cord cheeks, satin spots, laces, fancy vestings, regattas,
and many descriptions of fancy work. The inventors are
Benjarnie Croasdale and 'Richard Talbot. The cost of a
loom, when complete, would not la; more than 30a The
old plan of a sitting-tree, &c., is entirely dispensed with, and
a boy could turn six or eight piirs of looms at one and
the same time with...ease ; and the. cloth would be more
even in texture and smoother in finish than that turned off
by a hand-loom weaver. Saba stripes, satin spots, are
hair-cord checks can be turned off with the Wino t case
and facility. The power of a Werth engine might be
:applied in propelling a large nutnbrrof looms to an almost
:indefinite ext,nt. The inventors havo worked at their
favourite project for some time, anlsueeeeded in produc-
ing one of those ingenious bat apparently simple contri-
vance for- weaving the above-named class of goods which
has ennobled the history of tho working classes, and added
another testimony to the inventive genius of the men of
Black'aiara and its aeighbowtecd.

SOJAJTION OF TIM MARMA.GE QUESTION IN AMRFICk.—
Last Saturday, says a New York, the parties rcsidi ),g in
thevicinity of West Eighteenth-street were thrown into u
state of excitement relative to the elopement of a respec-
table young lady with a young man whose name we have
been unable to learn, .Six months ago the young gentle-
Man in question was inv;tffl to a private party given by a
member of the aristocratic circle, residing in Fourteenth-
street, and wis there introduced to Miss Emma, then he
was at once struck with her beauty. During the evening
he danced with her several times, and paid the strictest
attention to her. When the hoer arrived for supper, he
escorted her to the table, where they discussed the
good things of life, after which they, returned to the
ball-room, where the dancing, was kept, up until,,thd gray
dawn of the rosy morn, when he gallantly saw her home ;
the politely invited him to call again, which.he promised
to do in a few day?. The time soon arrived, and the young
gentleman procuded to the house in West Eighteenth-
street, rang the belt, and was soon ushered into the parlour,
where to was hip-educed to the family. He here conducted
hiciself in such a manner as to win the good will and
esteem of the old folks, and after spending a very agreeable
visit wished them good evening, The ice was now broken,
and the good•will of the old folks oh.ained, and nothing was
left for him to do but behave himself, as the old folks were
s'rietly pious. Time passed, and he continues! hie
visits np to list week, whea it appears the old
gentleman heard a statement made defamatory to his
character. On .Tuesday last he call -el at the house,
whEri a consolation was held relative to the mat-
ter. The young man stoutly denied the charge, but could.
not then clear the matter up. He was informed not to
enter the house again until the affair was satisfactorily
explained. Being thus prevented from visiting the hoes,
he wrote a note on Thursday night to Miss Emma, stating
the feelings which existed between her father and himself,
and very strongly protested.his innocence. Re also offered
a proposition t) elope, which was accepted, and on Friday,
under cover of the night. they left for parts unknown to
the old folks. The daughter left a note on the table in her
room stating the course she had taken, which note was
found on Saturday morning, The father immediately
started in purkuit,,but ere this the truants are joined in OM
bonds of imilogk,