The National Register.
London, England, 1817-08-25 00:00:00

THE AMERICAN RED BOOK.•

(rnnM TILE A1.11.15T GAZETTE.)
'People generally, who hve at a (I:stallee from the seater
Government, have had little idea of the tatimlier who are em-
ployed to transart the eoneeins of the nation in the different
departments at Washington, or the amount of money paid fa
the heads of deparments, clerks, ntesseneers, Arc. The fol-
lowing is an allstract of the nomber of officers, and the whole
moonlit of the salaries, of the several departments takers
from the lied Book.

Grand Total of the salaries of the officers and clerks ems
ployed at Washington, per annum, 1)351,882. including the
president, throe are 21 different departnelifs, or offices, at
Washington. lii these offices there are enyloyed, or at least
paid, two hundred and fifty seven pei sons. Two hundred
mid two are clerks, and twenty-three lotssengeos and a,sist-
rod Of the above unuwci , forty-five are fio eign-
ers by birth, via. :- —Twenty-one Irishmen, twelve English-
men, four Scothman, the et. Sweeties, twsi Germans, Wit Hui-
aiari, line from Tortol.i. arid one from itei
• This name has for mane reason been given to a puhlication
mottle in pursuance ofalte-oltirion iu Cosign:l...containing the
lu mriul plat-nor nativity of dreamt's' officers of Governimmt.
Rive hundred copies of this work to be pullisittal by the Government ;
out as this mother will hardly be sufficient to supply the officers of
Government, a printer in New York is 'wincing an Within for silk-

SUMMER ASSIZES,

MON h 10( TH.

James Harry, alias Harris, stood for the wilful
murder of Elizabeth his Hite of the .tath of March last, in
the parish of Malone, in the county of Alosimonth ; and the
indictment charged Ike murder to have been coutinitted in
three ways ; first, by striking her on the temple with a large
stoic ; seconly by thrusting a cap lute her throat ; and lastly,
by throwing her into a certain pit and covering her over with
earth, thereby producing suffocation. The prisoner, who
is an athletic man, 4.i years of age, on being arraigned by
Mr. Tunics, the clerk of the indictment, pleaded nut guilty.
Mr. Kassel, i.t stating the circumstance.; to the July, ob.
served that the mother of the deceased had lived in a cottage
which was her own property, at Buck bolt, in the pariah of
Dixtone, within a mile and a quarter of Monmouth. The
prisoner about t wentyyears back, marl it'd the deceased, and •
went to live with her at her mother's cottage. They had not
lived long together however, when some differences muse,
which led to their separation. They again came together,
but finally about It years back, the prisoner went away, and
was not heard of again till last summer, when he returned;
and through the intervention of some friends, once More went
to live with his wife. in the interim, the mother of the de-
ceasahlied, and having settled upon her daughter the Cottage
in which they lived. deceased was a 1111E3C, and very
comthrtatily situated ; the priscner was a labouring Math
I.fisfoi innately, they had not lived longingether, ou this third
inaction, betore their old bickemings were renewed. At
length, on Palm Sunday, last, the deceased was missing, and
seas hut discovered till the 10th of April, when her body was
fmnd, dressed only in a shift,-buried in a ditch within a short
distance of her house, with a wound on her head, which had
evidently occasioned hex death. In order to affect the ;ire-
ponce with the commission of this attrucious deed, several
witnesses were called.

The case for the prosecution being closed,
Mr. Justice Park asked the prisoner what he had to say in
Isis defence.. He put iu u written paper, which tic requested
aright be read.
Mr. Tolima, the clerk of the indictments immediately read
it to the Court. It wrs written with great ingenuity, and com-
menced by a reference to the early life of the prisoner, and
described him as an unlettered luau. It then went on to stale
that Isis early habits were those of industry and frugality;
that he was taught to avoid, and did avoid, the temptation of
alehouses, and -a profanation of the Sabbath; and that, in con-
sequence, hue eat ilings increased with his years ; that his life
Sacs one of peaceful quietude until he met with the deceased,
a period which he seriously lamented. To avoid the coatinu-
uance of such misery he tied from her society, and for many
years pursued a count of labour with credit to himself, and
salistactionio his emplov erg. On his return to his wife, he
had only to regret a repetition of those scents which he had
before fled to avoid. In referring to the things which were
found iu his house, and which were said to be stained with
blood, he submitted whether, during the 14 days which he
lived in his cottage, during which his premises were open to
irspection, he would nut have put away her things, and re-
'no% cd himself from the country, if he were conscious of his
guilt. In floe he threw himself, on the justice ofhis country,
mud if his fate should be sealed by the verdict of the Jury, lie
had only to hope fur a more favourable reception at a more
awful tribimul hereafter.

Mr. Justice Park, now proceeded to address the Jury.
After referring genet ally to the nature of the crime unfolded
to the prisoner, and to the law applicable to that offence, his
Lordship proceeded to remark, that this case depended solely
upon circumstantial tv nicuce ; a species of evidence which
be for one: if clear and satisfactory, should always think the
most conclusive that could be given in a court of Justice.
Wbutlicr the evidence affecting the prisoner partook of this
oatisfactury character or not, the Jury would determine.
His Lordship remarked that the tact of his not having gone
away from his house was certainly an argument in his 14V0111,
but tl:en it should he recollected that he was not accused of
an open and public murder, but one of concealment—oue in
which the body had been buried, and which, but for acci-
dental circumstances, might never have been discovered till
:the body had mouldered into dust. Another point for con•
sideration, too, was the circumstance of the prisoner having
contented himself with making general inquiries respecting
his wife, of indifferent persons, when lie was within a mile
and a half of luitenotitti himself, and lie could have gone
there, Wile tilt any doubt and solicitude on the subject.—Had
be been found making those anxious searches !Mused, it would
.havb been a strong fact in his favour but the reverse being
the case, the Jury would consider wht tiler those inquiries
were not in point of tact, intended for the mere purpose of
lulling suspicion, and averting any thing like a suspicion of
Lis guilt. In reference to the prisoner's defence the Learned
Judge said, that it was cei tainly the duty of the Jury to
weigh the statement which he had made respecting his not
having destroyed the proofs of guilt alleged to have been
found ill his house: but then they should revollect, and the
experience of human nature led to their observation, that
in great offence's of this nature, material circumstances were
*glen forgotten by the °dewier, and thereby led to a detection
which might nut otherwise have taken place. Added to this,
it was singular that iu the paper which had been read, and
vrhioh contained many sensiole renwrks—yet throughout
there was nut a denial of the crime--there was nothing but
reasoning. upon facts, and propositions whether front those
facts guilt was to he itikrred. if upon the whole the Jury,
Lad a fair and reasonable douta,they would give the prisoner
the benefit of that donut; but it; tai the coat taty, they wide
3.4tislied of his Ka-tit, they %mild do their duty, however pain-
ful, by pronouticitte then v erdict aecut dinghy.
The Jury, after a few minutes' consultation,rcturned a ver-
dict of Guilty.
Mr. Justice Parke immediately proceeded to
.pass the
dreadfialsentenceof the law in the int."t awful impressive ,
manner, expressing the approluitien of the verdict of the
Jury, oltich he said was righteous, as no person who
had heard the lung and t aiuful iiiiii.ity in which they had
been engaged, could elite' tain a Junta t.l the prisoner's
guilt. The pirsouts was of died to be executed on Monday
(lust).
The prisoner, it appears, during the 14 years lie was absent
from his wife, was i.tu,nirer uiWurcestersitite and Het Ow
shire, and had iilll4,NtAi upwards 014001. which lie had placed
in the Worcester Lank, ill the name of James flurris, wlucb
led to his iredug indicted in this The 11.111allider of his
property wan w ortl3 about 3091. non e,which he assigned pre-
vious to ills triad, to his brother, his sister, and his soil (a young
man Of tgathi Cl:alai:ter, about 20 years of age). He was .
ex-
tremely avaricious ; and is supposed his avarice induced Wm
to preserve those evidences of guilt which WCI C could iu his
house. Had they been destroyed, Mr got.lt would not have
beta so apparent.