The Sun.
London, England, 1855-12-07 00:00:00

PENALTY FOR SHOOTING A PHEASANT.

At the Wingham Petty Sessions yesterday (Thursday)
before Mr. M. Bell (chairman), Sir Brook W. Bridges,
Bart., and mix other county magistrates, a youth of the
name of Henry Hoile, about 17 years of age, and ap-
parently somewhat deficient in his intellect, was charged
with having unlawfully killed certain game, to wit, one
pheasant, the property of Mr. Edward R. Rice, M.P. for
Dover, at the parish of Silmonstone, on the 28th ult.
A keeper in the service of Mr. Rice deposed' that about
a quarter past two on the day in question he was in
Mount. Plewant Wood, on the Dane Court estate, when
he heard a gun fire. He immediately went to the spot,
and saw the defendant on a footpath on Mr. Harvey's
land, which joined Mr. Rice's. Witness asked him what
he bad been shooting. Defendant replied, " Rooks."
The next morning witness went to the cover immediately
opposite where he saw the defendant the previous day,
and then, within shot of the footpath, he found a cock
pheasant dead, having been shot. It was lying on the
ground, not covered up or hid in any way. Witness
watched the plain, and about 11 o'clock the defendant
passed, but did not touch the bird ; he also came again
at 3 o'clock but did not interfere with it. Witness then
went up to the defendant and charged him with having
shot the pheasant. At first he denied it, but subsequently
admitted that he did shoot at the pheasants "to scare
them away." Defendant was employed as "rook boy"
by Mr. Harvey.
Thomas Dawkins, yardsman to Mr. RiCe, preyed
having heard the defendant say, while in custody of the
previous witness, that he shot at the pheasant, but did
not intend to kill it ; he only wanted to Jrighten it. He
cried very much at the time and said he was very sorry.
Defendant—l was sent there 0 keep things off my
mazter's wheat, and I shot at the birds, but not to kill
them. I shot at them with a stone.

Sir Brook Bridges— Your master, no doubt, told you
to shoot the rooks.

Defendant—But there is a terrible many of them other
birds, aid I was told to drive all birds off the land.

Dawkins expressed his belief that the pheasant had
been killed by shot and not with a stone.
The Bench consulted together, after which
The Chairman told the defendant that the magis-
trates considered that the case was clearly proved against
him. He was liable to a penalty of 51., but they would
only order him to pay 1/. and 17s. 6,1. costs, or one
month's imprisonment with Lard labour.
Defendant—l have no money but what I work for.
Sir B. Bridges—lt will be a very good warning to you.
Defendant—Will you allow me atYy time?
C hairm n—No.
Defendant—l have got 103.
Chairman—That won't do.
Defendant was accordingly taken to prison.

ALLEGED BURNING OF A NETYLY-BORN

CHILD.

A shocking case has been investigated before Mr,
jiiwison, coroner, and a jury at Cleckbeaton, in which
Eliza Woo(7, of C!eckheaton, a delicate, fair-complexioned,
and respectAble•looking young woman, was alleged to
have destroyed her offspring, the birth of which she had
unlawfully concealed. The woman resided in a sort of
cellar-dwelling, at Moor-end, CleckheAton, and was em-
ployed at a worsted mill in the vicinity. She had one
child, about two years and a half old, the offspring of
her marriage with her late husband, who died somewhat
more than a year ago. Since her husband's decease she
formed a connection with a man who, we are credibly in-
formed, was employed as an overlooker at the mill in
which she worked, aad after she had become pregnant
he married another woman. The neighbours observed
her condition, but she never mentioned the subject to
them. On the Wednesday of last week, however, they
noticed that the door of Mrs. Wood's house was locked,
and a Mrs. Wooller saw her in bed, on which occasion
she said she had been poorly, but was then better. The
parochial constable was informed of the suspicions which
had been aroused, and eventually Mr. Sykes, surgeon,
on having his attention directed to the woman, made such
discoveries as can lead to no other conclusion than that
the unfortunate woman bad not only been confined of a
mature male child, but had deliberately destroyed it by
burning. Among the ashes of the grate were found
eight small portions of burnt bone, some of them forming
part of the leg, foot, and great toe. The child was
found in the bed, pinned up in a napkin, and much
burnt and mutilated. The legs, from the knees, were
wanting, and the thighs, buttocks, and abdomen were
much burnt, as well as the lower part of the chest. Be-
fore the discovery of the burnt body, the mother, in
reply to repeated questions as to what she had done
with the child, said at last, " I burnt it." She said the
child, when born, fell among the ashes, and she becom-
ing senseless, it was burnt to death. Mr. Sykes gave it
as his decided opinion that the child was put alive upon
the fire, and that the accused then washed it, and thus
blisters were produced, and the charred legs came off.
After a long investigation the. jury returned as their
verdict—" That the child was put on the fire by its
mother, and that its death was caused by being burnt."
The Coroner—Then that amounts to a verdict of wilful
murder against the mother ; and I do not see how you
could have come to any other decision.—Leeds Mercury.
ANTI-CHRISTMAS Box MOVEMENT.—The Cheltenham
grocers, to the number of ninety and upwards, have en-
tered into " a solemn league and covenant" to abstain
from the practice of giving Christmas boxes this year,
under " a penalty of 51.," to be presented to the hos-
pital. As a set-off to the above, the crier was employed
yesterday to announce that, in consequence of the
" combination" among the grocers, the public of Chel-
tenham would this year discontinue the custom of eating
Christmas plum-pudding.--Cheltenham Examiner.
A SERVANT POlSONED.—Yesterday a female servant,
residing with a family in Cockspor-street, Charing cross,
was brought into Charing-cross Hospital in a dangerous
condition, having been poisoned by eating a compound
of red lead known as beetle wafers, and used for the

purpose Of destroying those troublesome kitchen insects. I
'Mr. Beck, the resident medical officer, immediately ap-
plied the stomach pump, and extracted a considerable
quantity of the poisonous mineral from the system. It
appears that the young woman eat the wafers (the taste
of which she liked) without any idea of their noxious
properties. She is progressing favourably.