The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-10-30 00:00:00

Arson.

Jane Cooke was indicted capitally, fur having,
on the 3,1 ►natant. set fire to the house of John
Campbell, Elig. sitneted in Seymour-place, in the
parish of St. Nl:ory-le-boue. with an intention felo-
niously to destroy the same.
Mr. BOLLARD stated the case to the Ju►y, lie
said the prosecution was instituted by the Sun
Fire-office, Mr. Campbell being at present on the
Continent. He stated the evidence which he had
to adduce in rapport of the indictment (and which
a few days ago we gave very folly in uur Police
report).
The first witness called was George Wilkinam,
coachman. lie described the 111.1111Wf in which lie
Dud others obtained admission into Mr. Campbell's
house (as it was lately described in our Police
report), by forcing at. entrance through the area
door. on seeing smoke issuing from the windows ;
also the state in which they found the house on
fire in several prts up stairs. They went into
several rooms without tinillsig any body ; it was
about six o'clock in the morning, and on retiring
from the bowie to get further estimator, some peo-
ple from the neighbourhood called out to them to
bring oat the servant!. They then returned, and
upon again looking into the parlour, they saw the
head of the Prisoner seeping a. it were ken] under
the blankets; they immediately went to the bed,
where they hood her oohed, wrapped up between
the blankets. mod it a stow a stupor and insensibi.
lityi They aseedisiely rearbeved be, tip a bonne.
No. 14, in the amt. msg. The ire seemed to
bate proceeded frees the shifts'e into the teem
L.
_ .

4_oo ,

_

•

where they foetid hoe,- onalThey revoiiwd her heft to
the neighbouring hoe'se to place her on. After a
little time the recovered from her itistntibility, and
b,gan to talk rationally. Site then avowed that
she was the guilty person, uud did not wish any
b.itly else to puffer fur her lac. On inquiring what
wits her inducement to commit to dreadful an act.
her relay was, that all her friends had turned their
bark* Ilium her. and that she had no remedy left to
rid liertelf of her eneinies except hring burnt in
the 111 Oii being molted whether any body
fool ails;sed her to commit the deed, she said,
" No, not parlienhorly." While the people who
first entered the house, and afterwards went to see
her alter • her removal. tvere talking with her, her
old !Mistress entered and said, •' 0, Jane!" The
Prisoner. immediately burst into tears, and ex-
claimed, " I aut guilty !" She then acknowledged
that she had got up at three o'clock in the morning
mud token a quantity of laudanum, which
mixed with some hatless& belonging to her master
and dunk it, and thou set tire to the house ; alter
which she retarued So bed.

Mr. North, • s• eon, of 74. Seymotir.idnce,
who was called to attend the l'ri•oner wloilr she lay
at No. 14. described the manner is which hr (amid
her. She was much convulse', and bore marks or
incisiosto oil her throat. which indicated that she
hail made iitiempts to it stroy herself. Witness
saw her %ennui two hours after she was taken ; she
was then iti a state of great agitation ; on his fist
visit she dtil not speak, on the second she talked
incoherently, and said her character had beet: ruin-
ed by rubbish, and that she wished to destroy her-
self by fretting live to her house. She tasked mys-
teriously, and said she did Hot wish to ruin some
people. and that though she had taken laudanum
and attempted to cut her orn throat, she dill Hot
wish to injure other people; she also talked about
a soldier, and is table-spoonful! of laudanum.
ernsre.roothsed Gq Mr. CURWOOD.—Her con.
venation was quite incoherent, amid he certainly
could not have pronounced the woman at the time
to be in a state of *mind mind. nor would lie-say
she was loupe. She was taken to the Mary-le-
bone !Amery at his recommendation.
Mr. Gondgrr, apothecary at the Infirmary, saw
her several times; she was generally incoherent ;
she expressed a great apathy and indifference to
the penalty to which she might he exposed for her
conduct in this transaction. Slot appeared to wit-
ness to be insane on particular subjects. and to talk
loosely of those who had, according to her own ac-
count, scandalised her; she appeared on many occa-
sions quite insane, and threw up from her stomach
a quantity of black stuff, which appeared to be
laudanum mixed with bile. fle never collected any
thing rational from her; she talked ►ouch nonsense,
but constantly admitted she had set fire to the
house.

Cross-examined.—He had no doubt of he► being
insane, and this opinimi lie deduced from her state
of mind after the effects of the laudanum had gone
by ; he thought the disease of some statirliag, as it
was of a melancholy kind, which was generally of
■ slow growth.
France* Stowe mid, she knew the Prisoner for
ten months, and paid her wages during Mr. Camp-
bell's absence on the Continent. The Prisoner h:•d
confessed to her that she had set fire to the house,
and also that site had previously made away with
some of Mr. Campbell's property, and enumerated
several articles, and named the pawnbrokers with
wbom site kad pledged them, bat nit inquiry at
those !daces, she was unable to see the property, or
get any satisfactory admission that any such was
pledged with. t lit in.
Mr. Web'', surgeon of the House of Correction,
had the Prisoner under his care from the 7111 ..f
this mouth until last Tuesday, and during that
time he had discovered nothing in her conduct to
induce hint to think her d was affected.

In his cross... Nomination he admitted, that she
wait a little affected when the wars sent to the House
of Correction. She had not been under merheal
care with his, but previously, at he understood,
with Mr. North.

To prove that the honor was the property or
Mr. Jahn Campbell. the probate of a will was
put in, from which. however, it appeared. that
Mr. Campbell had signed his name John Graham
CaniPbell, and nit Jahn Campbell.
Ur. CintWOou for the Prisoner, here rubmitted
two legal objections, one for the varirnce between
the probate, and the name in the indictment; the
pecond was that the perimn in keeping of a house
for another, wag not the occupier, and could only
for au offence of this kind, be tried for a misde-
meanor.

The Court reserved the first objection for the
opinion of the twelve Judges. and said. that the
second could only he heard in arrest of judgment
in the event of the Prisoner's being found guilty.

The ripe wa4 here closed for the prosecution.
AIM Payne knew the Primmer for three years ;
she believed her to be a woman of honest, sober
eltaracter ; she described having seen her three days
before the attempt to burn the litni,e, and from her
manner then in talking she had no doubt of her
being deranged.

Mr. Justice Pa summed the evidence to the
Jury, and, after detailing nll the facts of the case,
left it to the Jury to consider whetter they thought
the woman was in n state of sound •el when she
committed the act. They saw, from the evidence,
that she was insensible, and not attempting fivr
escape, but remaining naked and silent in the
midst of the flames; from which it would certainly
seem, and particularly alien taken with the other
evidence, that her mind was in a diseased state.—
The Jury had heard also the opinion of the surgeon
of the House of Correction. which wt.s different
front that of the flawr medical gentlemett, as to her
state of mind—and also the evidence of the woman
to whom she had confessed site bad stolen novae of
her master's proFerty.

The Jury, after five minute,- consideration, found
it verdict of Aot Guilty. on the ground of insanity
when the act loos committed.

Mr. Justice PARK—ks Let the woman be COll.
tined until the King's pleasure respecting ber shall
be known."
The onfottsmate woman. whose appearance woo
most wretched, was accordingly removed in custody
from the her.
This trial lasted until six o'clock iu the evening.

_-`_------~--i~._

-~!:_._~