The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1805-08-13 00:00:00

6.

Peron her account. He also admltted, that I.e did
not kno how the wounds on his neck were inch:led,

but firmly persisted in maintaining that there lied
been no quarrel, and that he was asleep when the
assault was cer•.rmitted.
William Ellis, grandson to .Tr.shua Crowther, by
a former wife, a buy about twelve years of age, was
then called ; upon being interrogated as th his know-
ledge of the nature of an oath, and asked whether
he knew what would be theconsequence if he did not
then speak the truth, '• Ido not speak the
said he. " I shall go to the Devil :" After he kid
been sworn, he stated, hi answer to the on-stio s of
the Court and Counsel, the following fails : That
his grandmother came to visit them on the 14th of
May, and rernained all night ; that he the withers
went to bed Aunt eleven o'clock, and wAs awaken-
ed by his grandfather crying out, " Oh dear toe,"
that when he got out of bed, he saw his grandmother
strike his grandfather three times with the iron maul ;
that before he got dressed, his grandfather, 5...h0
bled a good deal, had got up, and was gone i::to the
fold; that his grandmother followed him out ; that
they both almost immediately came in again, and
that his grandmother sat down by the table, and
began to cut her throat; that the witues, being
dressed, ran to call Mr. Mortimer a near neigh-
bour.

Mr. Mortimer stated that he lives within eighty
or ninety yards of Joshua Crowther, and that he
was early in the morning of the 15th of May,
awakeried by the grandson of Joshua Crowther,
who cried out, " Come, come, my grandmother is
braying my grandfather with the hammer until he
bleeds, and is cutting her own throat." Mr M r-
timer, accompanied by his man servant, immediately
came, acid found Joshua Crowther as be expressed
it " bierdoig feeder:" lie was standing by the
fire side the witnoss's servant exclaimed " His
throat is cut." i 'ale being but little light in the
house. :hey did :wt immediately see the Prisoner r•
but having made a little light with the fire, they
found her laying with her face upon the ground
bleed.::,; : A large hammer was lying upon the floor
near the fro, a candle was then got and other neigh-
bours called ; he also stated, that he thought the
Prisoner nearly dead.
Elizabeth Webster stated, that she went to Joshua
Crowther's house about two o'clock in the morn rg.s,
tit Sarah Crowther was still laying upon the An •r;
that the witness found a razor upon the back of the
fire ; that the razor was shirt ; and that she took it i
up and gave it to Mr. Sweden.
Mr. Sowden being ex anined said, that he re-
ceived a razor from the last witness, which he gave
together with the hammer to Benjamin LatriLy a
Constable. The Constable swore that the hammer
and razor had been in his custody ever since. The
hammer WAS then produced, it was deeply stained
with blGod, dry shaft was
,about a yard long, the
head of the hammer about five vunds weight, anal
had ahnaether so dreadful an appearance as great•y
to shock the Cour, ; the razor was then produced, and
the blade was marked with blood.
Joshua Crowther was again called, and proved
the h 'maser and razor to nave belonged to him ;
ail • " led, when his wife lived with him, he toed to
keep the razor locked up, but from the time she
ha,: st It him, be had put it Liao a drawer that was
not locked.
Mr. Field, surgeon, being examined, stated that
Ise arrived at Joshua Crowther's about two o'clock
in tile morning ; upon exaini .ation of Joshua Crow-
ther's wounds, he tnuud that he had two cuts on the
neck, and one cn the anterior part of the throat ;
the cuts to the neck were slight, but, that on the
throat had penetrated through the common inte-
gumen, and through the cellular membrane ; that
the wounds on the neck and throat must have been
done with a sharp instrument, and that there was
also another wound on the head which had pene-
trated through the scalp, and appeared to have been
done with an obtuse instrument : upon his ci osoex.
arnination he stated that Joshua Crowther did not
appear to have lost much blood, and that none of Lit
wounds were in the least dangerous.
'lle Rev. Mr. Hamerton stated, that being
sent for to Joshua Crowther's, he had some conver-
sation with the prisoner, in the comae of which he
asked her what could induce her to commit so hor-
rid an aEt> she replied, " My husband and I had a
quarrel, and he provoked me to it."
Mr. John Booth, clerk to the Rev. Mr. Hird, one
of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace, proved that
the examination was taken before that gentleman;
it was then put in and read. The most mate-
tial faft was an admission on the part of the Pri-
soner that she struck her husband ou the head with
an hammer ; but did not recollea cutting his throat.
The evidence for the prosecution beiges closed :
The Learned Judge enquired of the Prisoner what
she had to say in her defence: her answer was in.
coherent and rambling, but amounted in substance
to this, that her husband and she bad quarreled, and
these wounds were the consequence.
Mr. Rusher was called on the part of the pri-
soner. who stated, that he had known the prisoner
many years, and had always considered her as a
woman of good and humane disposition.
His Lordship now proceeded to sum up the evi-
dence, but previously obsered, that as the wound
iodised by the hammer, which was an obtuse or flat
instrument, and could not be called a cut, as de-
scribed in the indiamentlit was necessary the Jury
should leave all that pan of the ease out of their
consideration. The cut by the razor came un.
doubtcdly under Lord Ellenborough's act, and if
the Jury thought the evidence which he proceeded
to recapitulate conclusive, and that the wounds by
the ream had been inflifted with an iutent to mur.
der, or to do some grievous bodily injury, and if
they also considered the prisoner of sound mind, it
was their duty to return a vet din of guilty; but, on
the contrary, if they had any doubt either of the
prisoner having inililled the wound, or of the
intention of the prisoner being that charged
in the indiftment, it was then their duty to acquit
her. His Lordship also observed, that he had no eat.-
dence as to the state of her mind, and had h not
been for the express testimony of the husband, he
should have Or-tight it probable that there had been
a scutle between them, and tdlat the wound had
been iiiflided at that time. His Lordship also re-
marked, that it was a painful case when the usual
maxim of the law, that husband and wife were not
competent evidety,tie (es or against each ether,
was depa 34;_funber observations

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