The National Register.
London, England, 1817-08-04 00:00:00

AUGUST 4.

the 30th of September, and having there blacked their facts, they
went out to commit depredations, and in pursuance of that plan they
went to the prosecutor's. There one of them atttemiSed to force open
a parlour window with a plough.share, which disturbed the faintly.—
Mert then corroborated the statement of the prosecutor. that he ap.
pearel at the window, When Welsh snapped the pistol, which mis.
sed fire twice, but on the third attempt it went off: Upon the thing
of the pistol a man of the name of James Peace came up. who qu •s-
-tioped them. but they told him to hold his tonAie, or he would fare
worse, but if he went asray quietly they would not hurt him. Peace
corroborated this part of the statement, and he thought it prudent to
retire. When they returned to Clarke's house, Mrs. (lark advisnl
them to bury the pistol and dark lantern, which they laid in an ad.
joining orchard ; they did so, and the Constable proves' that he found
the pistol buried in the place that Mrs. Clark had described.
These facts being proved, which was the same evidence given
against others of the gang last AllaiZeS, the Jury found the pri4ona

At Nottingham, Charles Rotherham. for the murder of
Elizabeth Shepherd, at Sutton As!Meld, the particulars of
which we have fully detailed, was executed on Monday last.
A: Hort forst, I.Yrosiel Alston, fur the murder ofJohill'ayne,
was likewi.e. executed un Monday, smrsitaist to his Reettrite...
The case of the above offender. mu distinguished as one of
most atrocious that ever occurred in the criminal annals of this cam-
try. He was convicted of the murder of John Payne, on his return
from Hempstead market, where lie was in the liMit of selling corn
for the farmers, and receiving their money, which he frequently
took home with him. The ['rism e! was intimately acquainted with
him, and consequently kv,ew his halAta as well as the owl he tra-
vellA home from mark:t : he attacked the unfortunate tum in is

lane unawares, struck him behind the car aniruienifitehead with a
hammer. and :eit his throat. Ile was eonviettat on a chain of cir-
cumstantial evidence, so strong that nu doubt could possibly remain
in the minds of the Conn or Jury as to his gailt ; notwithstanding
• which, however, it is satisfactory to know Met, previoue to his ee-
ecutien, he made a fill confession of his guilt, and stated the only
eirennistanee which ilia not come oat in evidence, viz. where the
hammer and knife were deposited with which he conunitted the
mender. Tic unhappy weeteli also inede a voluntary confession of
two other horrid murders which he had committed ; the one on a
poo: old woman (by the name of Hail), who kept a small shop at
Ise...end', near his own residence (he rented a small fame in the same
pereh under tile Earl of Bridgewater). Ile stated that lie went into
her 110:14:. being known to her, shoat nine o'clock in the morning ;
that Ire took an importunity of getting behind her and striking her
with a bill eUicli lay to the house, behind her ear; that he then cut
her throat with a knife •sim:lar to the oar he cut pour Payne's throat
with (a butcher's knife); and on being asked where h: had secreted
that knife, he saidin a well ori the old woinan's premises ; that he
took 401. from her, twenty-three of which he paid to Lord Bridge-
water for rent, and the reinainder lie paid away to dflierent person.;
in the village in discharge of small debts. This occurred about a
year and a half ago. In respe.et to the murder of his wife. he stated
that he followed her into the cow-house, where she went to give some
hay to the rows, about two o'clock in the afternoon ; that he struck
her unawares with a billet of wood behind the ear, which nearly
killed her; that he immediately afterwards dragged her to the well.
and put her down it, head foremost. This occurred about six weeks
before the murder of Payne. Sue was found in the well on the same
dry, on an alarm bring given by her husband Ile could aedeen no
motive for this horrid act. Ile admitted he and his wife had fre-
quently words together, but not on that day, and stated that she was
a good wife. It is not only fortunate for the ends of lustier, but more
particularly so for the immediate neighbourhood in which these horrid
transactions occurred; two innocent men having hem strongly sus-
pected of the murder of the old woman at flawed% mid the whale
neighbourhood being under the meet horrid apprehensions of repeti-
tions of the cruel stones which had so recently taken place there. It
is worthy of observation, that the first suspicion of thus titan's guilt,
who hail previously borne a good character, and upon when the
slightest suspicion had not attached, arose out of an act of Provi-
dence. The mordent had hidden a pocket-book which he had taken
front Payne, in his barn- One of hue own men went into the barn
with a pitchfork, to get some loose straw. lie observed, as he
thought. the motion of a rat in the corner of the bans under the
straw. Ile struck at it with his fork, and instead of a rat, pierced
the pocket-book, which came out at the end of his fork. Amongst
others, no person has been more satisfied in a business of so horrid
arid disagreeable a nature, by the confession of this wretch, than the
Earl of Bridgewater, to whose indefatigable exertions, it is but jus-
tice to add, is to be attributed the bringing to justice and cond*n
punishment the perpetrator of these atrocious crimes.
At the Essex Assize., Joseph Witeou and William Pot ter
were pit to the bar, and arraigned, first for 'breaking prieon.
and then on several charges of felony. They were first
tried on an indictment charging them with bin-alai iously
breaking and entering the ilwi Ilia{-house of John Hawkins,
at Castle Hedingliam, and stealing therein about ten poseinke
worth of clipper coin, nine silver spoons, a pair of silver
sugar tongues, nine sheets, four table cloths, a quantity of
wearing apparel, and divers other articles, the property of
John Hawkins. The prisoners were both found Guilty—
Death. Lord Elletiliorough immediately passed sentence of
Death on them, and gave them not the least hope for mercy.
The following prisoners wore also capitally convicted ; viz.
William Cuellead, Jaynes Crosier, Edward Hasler, John
Taverner, Samuel Clay alias Fleming, William Sewyer,
William Abbott, William Atkins, Edward Carter, 'Thorsen
Hooke, John lives, Charles Sturge, Isaac Usher, and James
Waller.
At the Derby Aesizee, John Brown, 'Dramas Jackson,
George Booth, and John King, were brought tip for joilg.
merit, for bunting Col. lialton's sacks. In passing the dread-
ful sentence of death, air. Justice Holroyil made a sere pa-
thetic address to 'lie prisoners on the enormity of their crime,
and a.sured skein there oil.. not the least hope of mitigation
of piiiiishment. Wood, Smith, Miller, .1. and S. Waits, and
Step!: s, were next brought up, and sentence of death pro-
nounced upon them, bait with the hopes of a mitigation.
Smith, un hearing his sentence, dropped down on his knees
and played fur mercy with tears its his eyes.
At salisburee ten prinmere n criyrd sentence of death : H.
Angel. fur highway rubbery, and Charles alines, fur sheep
stealing, were left fur eeeetition.
ANOTHER ATROCIOUS M U ER OF A POOR
CLIMBING BOY.

The following is a remarkable trial for murder, which took
place last week at Edinburgh. The Crime was perpetrated
upon a chimney-sweep boy, 11 years of age, by a brutal and
inhuman master; and we apprehend that the hrart-rending
details of this unfortnate boy's sutieringstos ill go a great way
farther than any case upon record, in raising the indignation
•1 the public against the present Mel 110 d of sweeping
(-Minutes, and accelerate the passing of the Bill which is in
t iititcmplatiun to put an end to the abominable practice of
tiaployiteg charts en.
The case, as it is reported in the Edinburgh newspapers,
and we have given it, displays all the features of a cool, deli-
berate, malicious, and prentedated murder, perpetritei
limier circumstances cruel and barbarous in the extol ow.
'1 he poor victim is drscruivil by one witness as a " tine boy,"
and by another as " a good !my." 11 t' e 5 sr nt up a chimney
at twelve o'clock, where lie sticks fast, and at four a stone-
mreon set to work to release feint by breaking the s% XI. The
brutal master arrives and stops this humahe attrmit tt. relieve