The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1820-01-25 00:00:00

CORONERS INQUEST.

We copy the following from the Leeds Mete:goy
or host Saturday, January 22:
Thia week one of those dreadfnl event. which
never fill to excite public sympathy, and to spread
consternation and alarm through it neighbourhood,
has occurred in the towitship of Wilniey, within
three tittles of Bradford. In the foretiorm of Mots-
day last, a poor aged tvainan, of the name of Eliza-
beth Ashton, n. 811111514 at arrtshearl, applied to
John Storages, EMI. of Bawling, one of the Ma-
gistrates of this Rathog, for a summons, for the
tiverseett of her township, to thew cause why •
they did not stford her additional relitf. Tills
p-or women, it seems, was a widow, and hat
been the mother of a mimeo'''. fatnily ; but they
are all now of an age to mitotaist themselves, and
tine relief she sought wig two shillings a week to-
wards her own support. On her return home,
tiller she had got her sumo ttttt she called at the
Block IJ'g public-hottse, in Witt-ey, kept by
James North, and c4lled fora pint of ale. At this
time she wore n grey cloak, with the hood over her
bonnet, and it laitrilkerchii-f tied wood her neck,
at the outside of the cloak. %Viten she en-
tered the house the landlidy thought she had the
appettraoce of harlot: err tidy taken some hquor.
While the ohd woman was ibunki,,g her ale, k
collier, and Joh,. Poillips, a cart-driver,
who had both been titling drinkni;.; tit the publ7c-
boort ever siiice mow, etilvred
thin with tier, and Phillips cautrired ii) pat•l him- i
self off tipoti her 34 the tilasier ill the Itutise, of
the same time throsim; his loran round her neck,
ta:t voine iodeceot liberties •viit h her per-
son. This cuuduct, and the conv,r.aitiiiii which
scciinaloiiiiell it, shocke:l the drce"cy of some
of the company, mid tiie mistress of the !louse
wished the .11 wmnati to be uavelling homeward.
To this she iilijectrd, and wished for another pint
of ale, at the same time requesting of Phillips, sup-
posing I still to he the Isiallurd, to allow her to
slop all stating that the wav not aithont mos
ney, and Ili it she could pay for utiy accommoda-
tion that might be offoided to her. Mrs. North„
IllteVer, w.O deltrnalliCti that she should leave her
house, and at length Fletcher and Phillips pro-
posed that they would take her to the house of one
Henrietta Broadbesit, who lives hard by, and where,
they said, she might hove a lodging. Before she
lel: the public-liuuse she took stone money from her
pocket, and offered Mrs. North a shilling, in pay-
men: tor her rile. This shilling was thought not to
be a good one, soil she Oros tendered sixpence,
nod received threepence in chatige.
About four o'clock she left the Block Dog, ac.
compaiiied by Mark Fletcher and John Phillips,
each or them tot•li hold of our of her arms,
Fletcher having, at the same tinie, his arm round
her neck, and ;trot in the direction of Henrietta
Broadhelit's. It appeats, however, that they did not
call at her house; but at they passed her on the
road. Iltroadbe;.tioquired who that woman was, and
what they were going to do with her I To which
replied—'. What is Iloat to yes; mind
your own business." 'ritey then hurried her on,
mud, occording to their own conlessiori, took her to
a remote part of Hodsell Moor, to the eabiu of at
cool•pit, belonging to Blessrs. Hird„ Dawson,
' Ii irdy, rind Field, at Wood Eurl, which is about
three qoorters of a toile from the Black Dog, and
inure HMI hallo mile rrOM Broodbent's.

It orprefois that *bout six o'clock in the evening
Fletcher again returned to the public-house; and
in the course of the same eventug, but at what hour
casisisot be very correctly ascertained, Phillips re-
turned also. On Fletchei's return, Mrs. North
impiiied of him what they had done with the old
woman ? to whichise replied, that he had left her
wi►h Philisps, in a pit', cabin, and as it was very
near to the pit's mouth, he had desired him to take
care of her, for fear she should fall into it.

About time o'clock in the evening, • boy, of the
name of John Walker, went to his work at Hodgell
Wood Eial pit, but as his companion had not come:
to work, he laid down in the cabin. When be had'
been there for about half an hoer he heard • noise,
at if a stone had been censored from the wall of
an adjoining *lied, and almost immediately after
he saw a face look in at the door-way, but it was in-
staidly withdrawn, and he cannot say whether it was
the face of • man or a woman, from the transient view
be had of it. Soon after the boy had seen this face,
by which he was meth affrighted, Joseph Shaw, the
Int-maii with whom be works, came to the pit, anal
was lowered down to his work. Here, to his great'
-surprise. Shuw found a scaffolding, which had been
erected a, a distance of 14 yards from the bottom
of the pit, was broken down, and on being barred
.to the bottom, be found the body of a woman laid
WI her face, and two large stones laid beside her, at
a distance of a few iticliett. Horror-struck at the
.sight he requited some time to recover his faculties ;
at length, he communicated to his fellow's the ap-
palling intelligence, and after they had fetched -
the 11.• pe ri tepid a t of the pit, they drew up the
,hedy, but before it was removed, Shaw, the pit-
man, observed that there was a grey cloak, loosely
wrapped op in the form of a bundle, laving upon
her beck, and when lie took it up a bonnet dropped
out of it.

On the body being brought to the surface, it up- I
peered that every bone in the 14ari was broken,
stud that the was otherwise terribly mangled by the
fall into the bottom of the pit, winch is at least
eight yards from the pit's mouth. Au ularro wall
ituturthately givers, and soon after teas o'clock, the
news reached the company in the Black Dog that a
woman was found killed in Ho.isell-wood-fad Prt ;
and a short examination proved that it ems the souse
woinau who lied left the public-house with Mark
Fletcher and John Phillips that afternoon.
Suopicion ettached to these sots,
former of wl has u wife and three elnidress;!arpd
the latter is ins nemarried gnaw, las the courier of
the following day their conduct vials Gee!! Valless.
sed, uud uli Wednesday they were apprelleledvd by
the constable, and have beets its Oattterly ewer
Ots I'l.mi:day, James Wiglesworth, Edge the
Coroner of Ilailfax, held so loopiest on the body,
whets the fact. as above stated came out in evidence.
After the witnesses had been examined, Mark
Fletcher, who is • married lulls, with a family of
three children, was called on, anal his account of
this fatal end mysterious trausisction wits tis follows:
When we left the Black Dug we pasoseil the 1
lieute of Betty Broadbent, who said to us as we

gassed, gl Away with you forward with her."
We theta went to the cabin, and between 'five
and six o'clock I left Phillips and the oreusan
in the cabin together, at which time she was laid
ou the floor before the fire. I then returned to
my company at the Black Dog, where I had
barn drinking since imme. iVhen I left her she
;lad Dn her grey cloak and bonnet on the same
was ss when she quilted the public-house. When
Phillip. ret.irned, which might be about an
hour afqcr, I asked where he had left the old wo.
man, 1.. wH4•II lie answered that lie had not left
her in the c.sliiii, but afterwards he changed his
story, and s4s,l lie WI her Over.. When
he said hr not Iris her in the edit:et. I said
would tell the mistress, meaning Mrs. North. but
I did u. t tell her."

In answer to a question by one of the Jury,
why they took her to the pit Vire said, because
there were were several persons about the moor
▪ and they thought she would there be rpieit.
Tice) took her there to sleep. Ile recollects seeing
it hail .billing that ElizaLeth Ashton had at the
inn, but he dill nut bee any of her money after-
wards. They had no drink in the cabin.
John Phillips is a stout athletic young man, shout
Cif et! or Inur-url•twrnty years of age. and was
hrought up u vollier, but now a cart-driver :be
g use the fullowiug testimony :—" Whets Elizabeth
Ashton came into the Black Dog I wits not ire the
, and when I came in she asked me if I was
the landlord, to which I said, yea." lu answer
to n question whether he had not taken some
familiartLes in the room with her, he said lie
had, lint he desciihed them as less gross than one
or Ole forore► witnesses had stated them to be.
In continuation he said--" We saw Beth• Broad-
bent as we passed down from the Black bug, but
we dill nut ask her to let the woman lodge, though
I think we spoke to her. We took the old woman
to Wood End pit cabin, because we thought she
would sleep better there thou out of dart's. We
dill not call at any of the other cabins which were
nearer, because there were people about, and we
thought they would plague her as she was quite
tiosy ; we both of us left her between five and six
o'clock, at which time she was laid before the fire,
at about a yard dis►ance, and was lured and fast
a•leep. 1 remained with her about a minute after
Fletcher W.lll guar—nut more, and I was back at
the Black Dog as soon as him, or in a minute or
two after him. I never saw any more of her money,
and when we left her sleeping by the fire, she had
her cloak and bonnet oil the same as when she left
the public-house. On my return, I told Fletcher
that I had left her in the cabin, and I never said
that I had not left her there."

The next witness called was Mr. Warburton, the
surgeon of the next village, and his evidence went
to *hew that the death of the deceased was occa-
sioned by the dreadful bruises and fractures which
she had received in consequence of the fall into the
coal-pit. He added, that her person did not- ex-
hibit any appearance of violence having been used
to her previous to the fall. The woman who un-
d.essed her gave evidence to the same effect, and
added, that on her exam' g her pockets, no nio-
ury was found upon her, neither the bad shilling
nor noy other muuey, except four-pennyworth of
copper.. _ _ _

In this stage of the investigation, the Jury ex.
prettied a wish to adjourn, conceiving that the mat-
ter could not be satisfactorily gone through that
evening, and at eight the adjournment took place,
till ten o'clock the following morning.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 21.

This day the Inquest was reunited ut the Black
Dog public-home, to which place it was adjourn-
ed how the Hare and Wands. Several wit-
mimes were examined, and their evidence went to
shew from the testimony of witnesses who overheard
their conversation, that when Fletcher and Phillips
were hurrying the old woman to the cabin, they re-
presented to her that they were taking her too new
house where sloe would be decently lodged, and
that it was at the distance of about half-n-mile from
the public-house which she had left. It also op.
peered, that at
supposed that Elizabeth Ashton was still in the
cabin, as be repreeruted to some young menu hi►
companions, who were of a wedding party at the
Black Dog, that he could take them to a woman
•t u distance of 20 minutes' walk from that house,
which he afterwards said was Hodsell Nook Cabin,
and he importuned them to go with him to par-
take of his brutal gratifications. When it was dis-
covered that the deceased bad folks into the cabin,
Fletcher, who repaired with others to the place,
became agitated to tears and when he was asked
why lie was so lunch affected, and if he had any
thing to do with it, he turned away from James
IVoodhead, who made the inquiry, without giving
any answer. His contrition also was manifested,
and the nature of his offence explained by an obser-
vation which lie made in the presence of William
Fieldhouse and others, about an hour after tile body
was taken out of the pit, to whom lie said—" If
he gut over this affair, lie would never again be
false to his wife."

The investigation having closed, the Coroner pro-
ceeded to sum up the evidence. The fact, he said,
wits clear, that the deceased bud been taken to the
cabin by the pripotiera, Mark Fletcher and John
Phillips, nod that her death was occasioned by fall-
lit:: into the pit. IVbether she was thrown in by the
plistiners, or the fell in by inietaking her way oat of
the cabin, stn ht admit of some doubt, though he
thought, from the stature of the evidence, peril-
tidally from that given on the second day, that
she had fa:len accidentally into the ',it. This
would, however, nut be ctiondeted iu the nature of
an accident by the law ; for if a pets ~,,, with a
parpow, took or decoyed smother into a
'situation Of insmiertit danger, and after having left
1.0 chat exposed ellu9llPn, drink ensued, the
law would countier site offeLding party as guilty of
• murder.

11'ith all the facts before thew, and aided by the
Coroner's itiatructiuns. the Jury retired, and after
•bout 'Hair an loomed absence, they returned with
their verdict, w Hell wits recorded in terms to the
following etlrt•t i—
u That Mark Fletcher and John Phillips slid, on Moarlay
the 1 hat afJainl3ry 'Ramat, ta he the deceased Elmalselk Akab-
ism hi the colou or a coal-pis, knuwei by the Hausa of Iludaell
Nuok•pit, where they left and akseried ha r ass Onie the top
of the raid pit, Unit, by trawl* a sack desertion and
learinc,-she fell halo the battoinuf dm, &aid pit, sad was
kilian.—auil the Jury further say, tleat tire lista Mark Fletcher

. .
• • •
and lobo Phillips, beet the suit Minim% Addeo, ;salmi.
use sad by the mesas sfortvaid,44 kW aid mserder.,
Upon this verdict she Coroner committed the
Prisoners to York Castle. trriake their trial fur t:.e
murder. at the ensuing Assizes. •
In giving this sr:timid to the public we have
stated mere facts, feeling it to be our ditty carefailiv
to abstain from m eking any observed ur droving
nil, inferences either to the arlystitage or thi.ntr.„
tage of the Prieopiers.
The horn unfortunate woman, the cans, of 0h0,,,
(tooth was' the object of the • inquiry. bass heels ih.
mother of ten children, live of wham survive.
It does not appear tiro she wee. Ictiown at Weie—v
till the day of her death, though it it
live or sin lades front Hartshead, where 'he rend.
for the greatest part of her life; and it is quite
clear that her knowledge of Flew:het and Moline.
commenced at the Public-house on the atternomici
that .13y. She is described as a fresh lwaltlty-lwilt-
ing winnow of her sr. Whack,' from the ill•erii111.1.1
4111 the {elate of Ow coffin, we unnerved ism sithi six
years !

•

AligleK I's.

CORN EXCHANGE, MONDAY, Jaituaav 14

_ -
Alt Wont the navigation of the Amer is Now tokrali'v
free, yet, nolvrithsisisding the long im.peasitsis of ,•,
our market, mid the trifling sale• ilia I have brew made ..I.lc,
the la.t three weeks, the demand was raerediugly 1111114 it
tn,,rnisig, and sales of all Grain as h••avy as if there 1§3.1 A•
nn idetiructiein Ly the frost. The exhibition of Wisest ilia.
plc* irnm E,ssux was very large, but the buyers were reit
indiff. rr•ul 011,11 It pnrrLasiog, ahhoue, the same term( oair
were asked as on this slay lorthight, sod very few saps art..
etfecte.l tot those terms. Harley was also very doll salt., lint
prim. ,apples blued 311. a Ms ; the inferior i.ich rr, •
difficult to get off at from Rfte. In Mts. • Beans, fear,
Oats, were very plentiful, and each article dull sale at oar
last (potation.

CURRENT PRICES OF GRAIN.
Wheat, Kent do Eno-a 6ds 2os Grey Prose. ..... . • 42. 44.
Soli"lk dim. .. ON 63s Small &Alai 411. 42+
Norfolk 1)1110
ruteigii ditt0.......64s 72. Gots Potato.. 461 4'
Rye 34s 3d. Poland 0..1s 25. 2,..
Barley 26. 35s Feed Oats ...1+.:........
Malt SS. tThs Floor (per 55ek)....5',. lib.
Wili te Pease . 3as 421 Rape Seed, per last ..34/ 2./
Boilers 444 48s I