The National Register.
London, England, 1812-07-12 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

OLD BA ILE Y.

Tuesday, James Hesse was indicted for feloniously stealing a quan-
tity of paper and printed works from his employ ers, Messrs. W. Smith
arid Co. t'rovcrs, King-street, Seven Dials. It appeared in evidence,
that the prisaner yvas employed by the prosecutors as a warehouseman,
and had purloined property to a considerable amount, which he was
in the habit of selling to a cheese-monger in Oxford-street. Mr.
Smith attended to identify his property, and clearly proved to O:
Coutt their loss to be very considerable. The Jury, without hesita-
tion found the prisoner Guilty. The Recorder, in summing up the
evidence, severely an madverted on the enormity ot the olfence.
Wednesday the Sessions ended at the Old Batley, when sentence of
death was passed on
Taratais laan-on, flit secreting a letter, containing promissory no'es
--ausaanah latilamera, far stealing a lot. Bar k-note, in the (Reciting-
hause of John Ncwaon— Joaeph Sanders, fur robbing Richard Rob-
bins, on the King's-I: 'airway, of a watch, a dollar, and other monies,
his pi operty—D acial.ovel I, for stealing goods and monies in the dwell-
jag-house of WOliain rbeth Corcoran, alias Cochrane,
fur privately stealing goods in the shop of James Davis—John Bow.
man, to: stealiag a Bank-note, the propeity of Samuel Smith, in
t dwelling-goose—Thoinas Bowler, for maliciously shooting at Mr.
Burrowes, with iwcat to murder him—.; an Rogers and Jane Jones,
fl a Burglary in the dwelling- house ot lanes Caperton—and Antonio
Roze, for burglary. On Bowler's name being called, he answered in
the usual manner, uninstructed ; and, on being asked why judgment
of death shau!d nut be passed upon him, he observed, " Why, my
lard, when we got to Uxbridge it was all under water, and so we
hied a post-chaise and came home again." Four were ordered to ba
transparted for Life' viz. Jolla Mitchell, Joseph Davis, Samuel
Myers, and William Clayton.—Seven for bonne. n Years, viz. John
Ifo th, Geo,:ge Greenaway, David Kelly, Thomas Dardis, John
David Samtsbury, James -Brown, and Richard Read.—And twenty
for Seven Years, vie. Mary Williams, f.ohert Webb, lames Hesse,
Thomas Gannon, .Mary Banks, Eleanor Blake, William Howarth,
I tines Perara, Ellis Wailis, Mark Sinnott, Timothy Groom, Sarah
Grata-, Augustine Doaaice, I.ei,:hton Hall, Sarah loskew, James
Dodd, Daniel Ashley, Jahn Rae, Mamas Culling, and Margaret
m,Ginnis.—Two to lit imprisoned for two years ; one for 18 months :
seven for one year; and '2O for s x months each in the House of Cot-
rc,ticn, at ; nine in Newgate, for various periods ; 10
to be privately whipped ; two to be pillored in the Old Bailey, viz.
A Tl,ompson and 'l'. Hall, for conspiracies ; and 50 discharged by
?ro c-
•al inalion.—Sessiona adjourned to the 16th of September.

POLICE.

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

SHOCKING CATASTROPHE.—John Cooper, and Mary, his wife,
were charged with infusing a quantity of arsenic into some medicine
and thereby lioisoning tour of their children ; one of whom died, and
two others arc not expected to survive. The case will be best judged
of by an abstract of the evidence. The prisoners resided in George_
street, Norton-street, Mary-le-bone, are housekeepers, and the man
is a painter.
Mr. Davies, Surgeon, in Carburton-street, stated, that he was
&Caw Lai to attend the prisoners children, on Thursday evening, and

JULY Ic2.

he found tour r,t them in a very dangerous sate ; they ws re vomilin,
..and complained of a gnawing pain at their stomachs, and the
snntlr-
tou►s were such as would occur after taking poison. Witness tnder.
I stood from the mother that she had g.ren them brimstone aid treacle,
mixed with sulphur and cream of tartar. Purgatives and co,mcg
were administered, but one of the children died whilst the surg..on
was preparing them. Witness sent for the remains of wh..! the
dren had left, and it was analyzed by the raext rhe body
had not yet been opened.
Mr. Selwyn, Chemist in Mary-le.bene• street, analyzed the physic
which had been given the children, and Iv- found it contained a quail.,
tiny of arsenic. A man had ca.led at witness's ;hop or Wedi.esday,
and lin rehaaed some sulphur and treacle, awl asked what pi poi tioOs
of it made a good mixture. He could not state whether it wis the
tiri;oner or not.
Mrs Harrington, who lodged in the house of the prisoners, stated,
that Mrs. Cooper had told her, On Tuesday last, she was about to
give her children treacle, mixed with sulphur and cream of tartar.
‘l'irness was in the yard, and Mrs. Co •per produced a paper, with a
darkish white powder, and asked her, whether she thonaiit it W. 15
cream of Carta!, as she had magnesia in the house, and did not know it
~part. Witness tasted it, but she gave no f.t her opinion than that the
understood cream of tartar was an acid, and that whit. h she tasted w.is
gritty and without taste, but she said she was no judge of such things ;
ani in reply, Mrs. C. said, perhaps the acid taste was lost from her
having had it so long in the !liaise. On Tuesday morning, witness
saw the children sick, and Mrs. C. expressed surprise, as such had
never occurred before. Witness went out, and returned at seven ut
the evening, when the four children were in bed, in a very bad state,
and she sent for Mr. Davies ; but one child, five years old, died beton:
medicine was afforded. The mother was weeping over them. Wit-
cess described the prisoners as living comfortably together, and as
being most affectionate parents.
Other lodgers in the house and several neighbours corroborated the
latter sentence of the last witness, and described the prisoners as the
best of parents.
On being called upon to speak. the man was deeply 3filicte 1, urged
his attachment to his children, and described Ins wife as the best of
women. He had taken the house at Christmas last, and had no idea
how the poison came in the house. He was so much overpowered as
to prevent him going on frequently ; and the wife, wli.o tree led
diving the inquiry, was most sensibly affected. One of the three
surviving children is expected to live, but such is not the case with
the others afflicted. The eldest is nine years old, and the youngest
' tour. The Magistrate feelingly expressed his belief that the catastrophe
was the effect of accident, but as he was bound to hold the prisoners
until a Coroner's fury had sat on- the body, he committed them at
home under the care of an Officer.