The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-11-08 00:00:00

lfirltDEß.

On Tuesday last, as Itictest was taken by Mr. Gongeroft, at
North Stuntham, on view of the body of Mary Page, who, on the
Thursday previous, died, in the Parish of St. Peter's, Cheesehill,
near Winchester, and on Sunday ass conveyed to Stoneham for
interment. 11-hen the corpse was removed front the house in which i
the unfortunate woman died, the utmost confusion took plats ; a'
mob of a omen assembled round the cart, and with every mark of '
anger and disgust, protested against the removal of the body, of
which they openly declared James Page, her late husband, to be
the murderer ! produced much public talk. and the neigh.
bourhood became a scene of general agitation ; reports were circu-
lated of too positive a nature to be heard with indifference, and the
funeral was postponed until a Coroner's Inquest could ascertain the
truth' As soon, therefore, as the necessary evidence could be col-
lected, and such preparations made as the importance of the cue
required.* Jury was summoned, and on the day above mentioned
proceeded on their investigation.
It appeared that the deceased had been married to the amused,
James Page, about eight months, previous to which time she had
been a domestic in the home of Julie Fleming, Esq. of Storteluuu
Park, and had there established, what to the hour of bit death she
maintruned—a most unexceptionable character. Her husband, on
the other hand, was Ito use a lenient term) a man of irdiflerent re-
putation, fonder of the public-house than of hie domestic fireside
and the society of his unhappy wife. In his daily occupation, in.
deed. (that of a barge an on the River Haien). he was not neg.
lectful ; but his generrd habits and disposition were well-known to
be far feuin tee path of rectitude. The witnesses produced on the
Inquis: were the mime and companions of the deceased during her
illness, a person who had, on a particular occasion, witnessed her
bad treatment, and the surgeon who had attended her The sub-
stance of their evidence was to the following effect :—For many
months it had been well known wall the neighbourhood that James
Page and his wife had not lived on amicable terms, and the
deceased had often complained of the moat unmanly abuse and
cruel treatment from hei himennd. One of the witnesses, who
resided in the sauce house, hail frequently been alarmed by her
cries. and inteitered in her What'. She (the witness) hail never
seen any blow given, but bad listened to detail, of the moat
brutal conduct on the part of the husband, which had been
verified by marks of recent viplenee, and his own unfeeling ex.
nressionre Another witness had seen the deceased knocked down
by her husband in a public fair, which she was entreating him to
',ace; x ctowd collected round them, some of whom succoured the
deeea.ed, oleic where seized or. Peer, saying that he hail • killed
the teenier." His reply was an exproaeion of induierence, too
costae to be repeated. On one oreasion, a witness was called into
room by the aim of the dece.teed, who was in a state of extreme
iearni Red agitaiton. and ;hewed witness a hearth-brush, of which
the hunrtic was broken in two. and %Idea file complaieed her hus-
band had just broken by beating her. On the witness expostu-
lating with Lim for his conduct, Pete: coolly reldievl " that she
(the deo eiseel) had deserved it, and ten times more." Various
other instances of ill-treatment were spoken of, but the 'Duet int-
portaet, and that on which the Jury expressly founded their verdict
was this. In the Leer end of the month of August last, the de-
ccased eompleint d Pi an aetplaintante, one of the e 'messes, that
her husband had been cruelly beating her, and produced a
herb knotty fat:gut-sock, with which she said he list given
her a violent blow on the back of the head ; the witness looked
at the place where the blow was received. and otsorsed a
bruise or dent there, which we:oared to be recently mutinied, of
nearly half an incl, in depth. Alter that time the deceesed fie.
quently, especially define it illness, complained of paiw• in her
head, but never sietcd to the surgeon any probable cause, aed that
gentleman, not havieg reason to suspect any thir.g improper, of
course attributed diem to natural causes, and the effect of her ill-
ness. To add to the atrocity of the above tteneactions, it should
be mentioned, that the Ma...teed was, (luring the greater part of the
time, in a state of eregnancy. Ilmncn nature cculd not bear such
me: tment wiihoutsihking; on the 117th of ()ember the poor woman
wax seized with conviiisions--withiu two day, she was prematurely
delivered of a still-born chile, and on F.ilay, the 29th, the puo.
creature ended her miseries in death ! While witnesses acre de-
posing the above revolting feces, the Sergzon (W. T. 11'iekham,
jun. Esq.) and his aleignots were employed in it minute examine..
um of the but y, so as to form a Judgment en the came of the death.
3lr. (Vickletni's hetiuway alone was miming to tie the verelict,and
from the observatioes he had made, lie was enabled to ',peak with
such confidence, as to wierint an unanimous and unliesilatine deci-
sion. On theesternal surt.e.:e of the back part of the skull, cor-
responding with the eleee alheiliel to in the deposition of a fernier
witness, he had discovered an indenture or brats;, evidently pro-
duced by a violent, but not a recent, blow. On die inner surface
of the skull, immediately under that indenture, he hail found
limitation or deposit of bone, which must have here itiereateieg fie
some considerable period of time, and which, by messing on the
brain. would prodetee innvnlsive fits. Now, though convulsions
may be protimeel by other eeto.e, yet in the present inetave,e, it
was his opinion that they hail boo produced by the appearat.ce
above dierribeil ; am!, finally, he had no doubt that Outs: con, til-
snips were the uuuiediate cause both of the prenietwo r:o.n,i 'tient.
and of the death of the unfortunate subject of the y.
Cornier recapitulated the titiportamt par a of the ttitter,. Ettil .
peened to the Joey vtl.h points in. law as wet, ret.swry tor their
ettmiderstion. %Villittat having tee omen, aced a .th Sere se. .rt de.
liberation, they individually (tin in so impocatit a rasa 4'...
roner thouelit it right to question each Juryman r iniin ta. d 'ma-
nn:wetly declared to it emivictiott that the said Mary l'a'ce Unlit
to her death by. Murder," by the littuds of her husband,
the said James Pare. 'l'Le Coroner immediately ti demit his
wanted of and the wretches man nuw lit. to Wm-
dist:tic gsol awaitieg his trial at the next Assizes.--/Jemyseier
Mpt r

We are happy to announce a decrease in our parish-rat, A
of :id jh'r eclat. during the winter h•slt' year; dr: hoard of
the workhouse having, at their last ;netting, ih terinineil to
recommend to the parishioners, when the November as-
sssinent is laid. that the charge on houser. shall be reduced
from Ls. to 45., and on land frtmi 7e. ca. to cs.; a rcc3,ll-
- which, we venture to predict, will encounter no
opposition. According to the scale on which the township
of Leeds is assessed, the rate now proposed will he about
204. in the pound yearly upon the tack-rent fur Luiltlit:ss.
—Leeds Afercur y•

THE BRITISH PItESS.

POLICE.

BO W-STR BET.
A gentleman named Riechenbach laid a complaint at this Ake
• few &ye age. against William Dunn, the tinr:r of the hackney
chariot /NR, for refusing to take a foe whm legally required
so to dot and thereupon a summons was bowed to the owner of the
chariot, ealing upon him to appear, with the driver, before the
Magistrate on a day named, to answer the 'aid complaint. The
owner took no port of notice of this summons, Out on the day ap-
pointed, the Magistrate received a letter from the driver, of which
the following is a verbatim copy :
" For the Sitings lilagestraat of the Day Mt Bowstreet. Sir,
Heaving other Ilisseness to Attend, Tia nut emeenient fur we to
Apear. Wm. Dunn."
lira receipt of this curious epistle, the lilagbitrate issued his
warrant for their apprehension, slid on Sarunlay they ;truant].
Mr. Reiehenbacb stated, that between one and two o'clock on
last Monday morning, be applied for a coach on the Cloaks-street
stand, and the waterman peg biro into the chariot in question,
where he sat more than live athletes before the drives made his ap-
rarance—the Waterman saying he believed he was gone to a soup-
house. At last he came, and Mr. R. told him he deserved to be
summoned for detaining him so long. " What for," said the
driver, very sulkily, " I reckon a backney-noachman is to get his
suppress well as other people. Do you mean to summon me ?"
Mr. R. replied that he believed he should, since lie was en insolent
about it. "Why, then, get out of the chariot," said emichee,
" for I'll be hanged if I drive you at all." And eventually Mr.
R. was obliged to get out and take another coach.
The driver, in his defence before the Magistrate, admitted re-
fusing to drive Mr. R., and said his reason for doing. so was this :
Mr. R. threatened to summon him fur cot being with his coach:
and therefore he thought he might as well be summoned for re-
fusing to have any thine to do with him.
The Magistrate told Lim his conduct was very wrong, and he
had made it still rinse by writing the insolent letter above tie-
scribed. But he would not puni%h him froth any vindictive feel:
ing, and therefore, instead of fining him three pounds, as lie might
have dune, lie should mitigite the penalty to twenty shillings, and
coats.

This he declared he wait totally unable to pay, and he was cam.
mined for twenty-one *lays to the House of (Affection.
The owner was fined trn shillings and coats, for not attending in
the first instance; and Sir ft. Bienie told him he should lay the
whole case beforeAlte Commissioners, at the Hackney-coach O%ee,
wbo, in all probability, would revoke his license.