The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1804-11-21 00:00:00

DEATH BY POISON.

A circumstance of the most shocking nature has
this week occurred at Holbeck, near L., Leeds, and
has of course produced much agitation : I faunal],
the wife of John Wilkinson, of that place, clothier,
lies ing died very suddenly on Monday evening; the
Coroner summoned a Jury on Wednesday, but the
professional examination of th.i bode not having been
completed, the Jury adjourned till the following day,
when, alter a patient investigation of all the circum-
stances, they returned a Verdi,fl of Iflatid
aglin,t John Wilkinson, the husband of the deceased,
who stands committed to take his trial at the next
Assizes.
It appeared in evidence, that on Monday morning,
Hannah Wilkinson, after preparing an apple pud-
ding for the family dinner, went 1.. a hoope where
she was employed in the neighboorni• d about
half past eleven o'clock, the husba '. tile pud-
ding from the pot, and himself and .iis two childrer.
the one about eight and the other little more than
two YeArS old, made their dinner of part of it ; the
remainder was placed in a drawl.. About half
after twelve his wife reiurned home and dined off
the same dish. Having returned to her business, she
was soon seized with a violent fit of vomiting, and
used this remarkable ,expression " Oh! what has
the rogue been doing with my dumpling?' On being
asked in what state the found her food at dinner,
and whether her children had eaten any, her
reply was : " It was spread out upon the dish, but
my children did not eat any of it with me." Ifer
agonies increasing, she went to her own home, where
she languished till about half past seven o'clock that
evening, when she expired. On the body being
opened by Mr. 'Peale, the Surgeon, a por!ioo at
arsenic, sufficiently large to admit of demons:rative
proof of its nature, was found in the stomach. In
addition to this evidence, a boy employed in an
apothecary's shop in ithis town. declared yesterday
before the Coroner, that he sold three penny wcr.ii
of arsimk on Saturday night to a man wnotn he be-
lieves to be the Prisoner, and that he told him i e
wanted t o put it into some fish, which he held in his
hard, for the purpose of destroying rats.
It mitst however be recollected, that the Pr:saner
bad all the time betwixt Monday and Thar,dav
night, to escape from justice; that he made no such
attempt, but surrendered himself voluntarily. It is
also in his favour, that his son, the boy of eight
years old, swore positively, that himself and his
brother, partook of the pudding with his mother.
adding at the same time, " You know if it had
killed my mother, it would have killed me and
Charles."

In being thus circumstantial in our account of
this melancholy affair, we wish to call forth any
farther evidence, that may arise out of the case.
There is one circumstance in particular that may
lead to a very material fall, we mean the deelara-
t:on made by the apothecary's bay: Did any of
Wilkinson's neighbours happen to see any fish in his
hands on Saturday night or, Is there any other
person that can come forward and say, that they
bought arsenic last Saturday, under the circum-
s:ances above stated ?—( Leeds Mercury, Nero. 17 .)

A work, recently published in Germany, under
1. ir title of An lotrodnetrun to the Knowledge of
Agrieukstre, has excited considerable intetest in
.:IL country. It consists of three volumes, and con-
las numerous plates. The author is Dr. Aa.Barr
a A an, Privy Counsellor to the King of Pa ussi A.
:Ile Corporation of Swansea have, in conjunaion
v. in the Oystermouth Tram Road Company, de.
'iyriiined upon a plan of considerably enlarging the
a'.•.:.: quay, and of extending the limits of Cie
L.r.iv,,ig dock. It is also intruded to embank the
river from the public quay to the north end of the
lestern pier; which, when effefted, will give to
wansea a line of wharfs little inferior to those so
justly celebrates! at Yarmouth. The new jetty, a:
:lie head of the present pier. i. now competed : and
ye understand the irtended eastern pier will speedily
be commences!.
Some little uneasiness having appeared among
poorer people of Fowey and its neighbourhood.
at the shipping off coy from that port, the town-
crier of the borougli, a tee Jays ago. at the instiga-
tion of some impertinent person, proceeded to call
an assembly of the ppulace to c.'nsi icr of the sab-
le° I The magistrates very properly interpossol,
iitsmissed Mr. 0.4---Yas from his office, and bound
over Mr. Bev/ boor to answer for his condo.% at
nest rucral quartz sessions fur that borough.

Lir,:

COURT OF KING'S BENCH, WICiTSISI(STLN, N 20.

. - -
The Court was occupied the greater part of this
day in hearing law argumen:s, upon que,tions re-
served at Nisi Prier, from the last Sittiigs after
Term, and the last Summer Assi4es. The points
argued chiefly arose upon aaions in ejeament, on
which much legal knowledge was displayed on
both sides ; but they are not sufficiently interesting
to lay before t,ur leaders.
Of the few motions which were afterwards dis-
posed of, the following were the most interesting :

•VRL, PINDELL.

Mr. GA RROW moved fur a Rule to skew cause
why the Judgment and Execution in this cause
should not be set aside, and that the sum of 91.
should be returned to the Defendant, with the costs
of the application.
He stated, that the Defendant was indebted to
toe Plaintiff in the sum of five guineas, for which
he was sued, until the costs and debt together
amounted to Ili:. I Gs. 6,1. and the party then agreed
to receive the debt by two instalments, the first of
which became due on the 24th of June last, which
was on a Sunday, and the Defendant went to pay
it on that day, to the Plaintiff's Attorney, who
told him, he need not have been so very particular.
When the second instalment became due, he saw the
same Attorney, and asked whether he should be at
home, that he might call on him and pay the last
instalnvint ? he replied, he should not. And the De-
f went the following day ; but the Attorney
was absent Iron; home ; Judgm,:iit was theft signed,
an execution issued, and the money was levied.
The Court granted a Rule to shew cause.
SLOCGLT L. IiIIAEL.

Mr. Gives moved to set aside the :sward made in
this cause; he stated, that he had made a similar
motion some time ago, on the grounds, that the ar-
bitrator, a Mr. Schohel, refused to hear evidence on
the part of the Defendant, and had awarded the
Plaintiff the full of his demand ; upon which the
award was sent back to be amended. The arbitra-
tor on Cie lasi award had given the Plaintiff be-
tween 501, and 601. more than his original debt ; and
when the Defendant remonstrated with him, and
desired he would hear his evidence, the former re-
plied, that he would certainly hear his witne,ses ;
but that, notwithstanding all his evidence, he would
not alter his opinion upon the matter, for he had
already made up his mind upon it, and so help him
God, he would make no other award, or something
to that purpose.
kale to shew cause granted.
ALDRIDGE V. SMKUDAR SC TWAKINS.

This was a conditional ord r .ibtained to set agide
a writ of procukado obtained by the Plaintiff in
in this c tuw. _ _

Messrs. East:lse and MARRYAT shewed cause
against this rule ; The former stated, that an attach-
ment had been issued in the Mayor's court, and in
.-rder t dissolve it special bail should be entered
A Rule :vas obtained before Mr. Justice Le HI ANC,
at his chamheis, for a writ of pet., Jcisdr to issue.
unless better :ail should be entered. The cause
was then moved into the Court of King's Belch,
when. it was necessary to obtain another Rule for a
writ of prwniend), unless b• tter hail was procured.
This was done before Lord ELLEN ensoucti, at his
chambers, but, by mistake, the notice was titled
only in the name of one of the Defendants. The
Defendant's Attorney, not then taking any notice of
the mistake, forsook the otiginal bail, which was
subst.tntial, and gave notice of new sureties, who,
noon enquiry, were found insufficient ; the one, re-
siding in a cellar, at a rent of Is. hi. a month, and
also keeping an ass, for the itinerant sale of fruit ;
and the oth..r, the owner of a house of ill-fame.

The Dzfundant's A torney then served notice of
filing the bail-piece on the next day, the bail beiLig
pertedel ; and, in the notice, he titled the cause in
the regular way, stating, in the body of it, twice,
this cause; thereby taking advantage of the Plaint-
iff's rule, in which one of the Defendants only had
been mentioned ; although he had acted under that
rule so obtained, and served his notice of justifying
bail under it.

Mr. Cantos., in support of the rule, contended
that the rule obtained at Lord ELLENBOROI:OII'S
eharnoms was distinaly an order in another cause,
and therefore was a nullity in the present, from
wh;ch he con:Tived the Defendants. entitled to file
their bail-piece.
Lord ELLILNIIDROLGII observed, that the Defend-
ant's Attorney adverted to the call in the Plaintiff's
ride ; he adopted it, and gave it by relation, its ri-
fe% ; if there hid been any imperfeaion or defea in
the original ord T. he had cured that, by acing
upon it ; and therefore waved his present objedion.
Mr. Justice LACIIINCE insisted it should be refer-
red to the M.lster, to consider whether these notices
were the usual ones in such Cases ; and whether it
was necessary or cu.tomary to state the full title of
the cause.
It was, therefore, referred to the Master.