The National Register.
London, England, 1819-10-31 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISWEIt.

The following day I to'd her I wanted to buy a pair of shoes,
and asked licr to arcompany me; she refused and went off
by herself halt an hour before. I sought her fur some time,
and at length met her near Dishopsgate; she at first refused
to go with me but ultimately consented, and soon after left
me and when I came home she refused to tell me where she
bad been; I was very angry and we had words all the time
of tea. I told her I had not ;muter enough to get shoes, and
she wanted me to go to Church strevt, Newington, where
she said I might get them ; I went there, and found neither
slvip nor shoes. On my retain I found her again from home,
and tried for her in the coach yard, where she sometimes
went to the men, but she was not there. I then went to the
cow house. where I heard her lireathieg." lie then minutely
described ihe situation in which be bound his wife with Law-
rence on the evening of the .28th of Septemlier ; her en-
treaties to he forgiven because the man forced her in; he
stated hi: offer to prosecute the man her refti;al, decla
ration that she loved th finger better than Its (t he
husband's) whole body. He then admitted hi: having had
a continued altercation with her in the bed-room, and his
being at length provoked ; and in the height of her abuse of
him,and threats to go out again to t:.e man whom she loved,
and also her imprecations chat she would be tie death of him
or herself; he then struck her since, twice, or thrice, with
the axe which he nicked up in the room; and after hay•
ing done so. he strew her head towards him and kissed her
saying... Ami were once my comfort ; I have now been your
death ; and you, my dear, will be the deaths cf me." He
admitted his having taken the 11. from his father in-law's
box, and threatene,; those in the horse not to stir. In the
course of his address, which was rather long and in some
parts unconnected, the prisoner more than once adverted to
acts of infidelity on the part of his wife, which according
ts) Jus.account, he was aware of before the night of the
murder. He said she had been in the habit of going with
married men in the neighhourhsied, and tLat he had long
suspected her. On the night on which he. alleged. he bad
detected Lawrence hind his (prisoner's) wife in the cow-
house, he said lie upbraided hers but afterwards consented
to forgive her, and forget what. was passed, provided she
a:ould go 4:id live with Lawrence or Tucker, or with any
one else she loved bet er than himself, and not come to him
any more. it also appeared from his statement, that the man
l.averence) had joined them ; prizainer and his wife) before
they got home from the cow-house. on 'he night in question,
and had called for sonic drink for them, acknowledging that
the whole trarisactiran with I.IIaULIKT.I wife was his (Law-
rence's) fault. Prisoner said he would not drink. btu (we
think) only tasted it, and threw away the glass From ano-
ther part of his speech it appeared, that lie had on a former
occasion been hound over to keep. the peace fur ill-treatment
of his w This he alleged as a season for not striking her
when she provoked him so, by saying, (as he. itsted,) that
slit would do as site liked, and he might go and bc.d---d;
for, he added. he was afraid shy would send him to prison.
and let him rot there. From the whole of his defence, ad-
mitting it to be true, we could infer, that the life he and his
wife had led before the melancholy conclusion of hers was a
aolistant scene of quarrel and reconciliatani. On the present
occasion lie rested his case chit fly on the great provocation
he had received from one whom he said he loved so dearly.

A litnniaer of witnesses were then called, who gave the PH.
boner au excellent character for bumani y.
Mr. Baron Wool) summed up the evidence to the Jury.
and rema: keel, that had the ptisoner combatted the act of
which he stood charged, at the moment he caught another
man in adultery with his wife, then the law had humanely
provided a palliation for his crime; but here the act was de-
liberately committed at a subsequent period, when the pas-
sions had Aline to cool. and therefore the prisoner had disen-
titled himself to the belie& he might otherwise have had in
the eye of tire law.
'l•lie Jury, after +ix minutes deliberation, found the pri•
-rity, and the Recorder immediately pronounced
apon him. in the must solemn manner, the awful sentence of
the law, which was, that lie be hanged on Monday neat.
The pritp:.er bore .I.i. Lee with the utmost ctinposure,
and retired from the bar in the act of coolly wiping the dust
from the top of hi, hat.
The Court was at an early hoar crowded, particularly
with females.

ALLEGED :".41Titin.R.
flume, Lofi W3S lICILI Wit to the bar. charged with the wil-
ful murder of Anne Licivion.

In this ease 'tbe particulars of wl.lch we have recently
g;ven to the public in the account of the proceedings at the
Coroner's inquest), bills of indictment had been sent to the
Grand Jury, who threw them out for want of sufficient evi •
dente. The prisoner. was .now. therefore, arraigned on Ahe
Coroner's inquest.
Mr ALLEY, who was retained by the parish (St. Mar-
tin's in the fields, we belive), stated the case to the Jury He
described most or the circumstances as they weredetailed on
the coroner's urest, added, that from the statement of
the deceased, at a time when she must have believed she was
dying. there was nothing elicited which could in any degree
inculpate the prisoner. The learned gentleman was proceed-
ing, when
Mr.-Justice Paris observed, he understood that he (Mr.
Alley) had no eridence against the prisoner, but that which
was adduced before the Conoter—no evidence which could
bring home any thing to the prisoner.
Mr. Att.ty said he had no such evidence, hut appeared
there by direction of the guardians of the parish in which
the verdict of the coroner's inquest had been returned.
Mr Justice PARK sa'd, the parish had acted very properly
in setting the inquiry on foot. Where blood had been shed,
it was their duty to endeavour to find out the cause; but he
and his learned brother (Mr Baron Weed) had read the de-
positions taken before the Coroner, which he had no doubt
were correctly given; and though he did not mean to clues'
thin the motives whirls had induced the verd ct on that oc-
casion, yet he should observe, that fur any thing which ap-
pear-el, they might as well have named any other person in
the kingdom as the prisoner. Under such circumstances,.
and where there was no additional evidence to he offered, it
would he °illy a waste of time to go on with the case.
Mr ALLEY reneated, that he had no further evidence; and
his Lordship told the Jury, that as there was no evidence,
they must acquit the prisoner.
A verdict of acquital was accordingly given,AMl recorded,
and the prisoner was discharged.