The National Register.
London, England, 1815-01-15 00:00:00

OLD BAJLEY.

Wednesday these session% commenced heron: Baron Wood, Mr
,;:ce Dallas, the Lord Mayor, the Recorder, and several Alder:at n.
CHARGES OF MURDFR

Friday, Joseph Akerman was indicted for the wilful minder of John
B,,iitliconibe, •.n the /2 I of Octuber last, by driving over him a certain
mail coach drawn by four horses.
Tho prisoner was. the coachman of the Bath mail coach on the day
queotion, and left the Post-office at about tea minutes after eigh
u'clock. 0,, their arrival at the two mile and half stone, the ,outo
hei.rd a violent crash, and on looking forward he saw a cart overturned,
and man lying its die road. lie called t the coachmen to skip, ti d
the mail was polled, up at the Hand and Flower public-hou‘e. P1),:to
eighty yards from the spot where the Reciilent happened, trolls whewe
es•isialice was sent to the man. The Exeter and Worcester mails we•,
immediately before the Bush mail, and they were oil going at their
meal rate of eight mile. an hour ; their lamps heing lighted. Upon
subsequent inquiry, it turned out that the deceased and his brother
"err itriviae towards London, and that, as th. brother stated, they
were driving on their proper side when the moil coach came in contact
with them. width overturned them, and the Mild wheel of the mail
went over the body oldie deceased. The c 'etch, at the time of the ac-
cident was ou the wrong side of the road. The deceased died in con•
sequence of the injury which lie ettotelocti•
Upon the part of the prisoner, Walter Mansell, Bog. and the Rev.
Henry Brereton, Were caled, and irons their testimony it appeared that
the Rath nail was driven at a wen steady pace ; that there was plenty of
Nom t t the deceased to pass. and that the arident was occasioned
by a ,udder swerve of the cart towards the mail, as if the wrong rein
had been pulled. They described the condor of the prisoner to have
been atie,•.i.e, and pri,per, and in no ways negligent er careless. It
was so dark that they could nut tell whether the coachman was driving
on the right side of the road or not. The guard, after the accident bed
I.ol)rned. celled to the coachman to "drive on and never mind."
A gentleman, named Warren, who was walking on thirfo..t-paili, said
the coachman wa• certainly tn. the proper side, end that there was
room for two carts to have passed beyond it. It was flintier proved,
that the deceased and his brother were tipsy, and were incapuble of
driving. They had been seen by one of the Harnnsersmith corchmen,
a short time bef, re the accident, driving ,at the wrong side of the road.
Mr. Baran W0..(1 Bummed up the e*-irience, with a remark, that in
Iris opinion the -iTerce iosonted to the prisoner did not amount to mur-
der, allionsilt, it tut. Jnry *toe of opinion that the conduct 9f the pri
sower lout beets egligent ot careless, or that he had been driiing on the
wrong side ~1 rte road, et the time the accident happened, they :night
find hist. guikv of manslaughter. His Lordship particularly adverted
io the diode t of the guard, who load so inhuman!), called out to the
coachman to drive on after the accident !.ad happened, and reprobated

45

sack conduct in forcible terms. The Jure withdrew, and after an als-
uf a quarter of an hour, returned with a verdict of—Not Guilty.
Robert Potion was indicted for the wilful murder of Ann, his wife,
by the, wing at her • chair.
from the evidence of the witnesses called in support of the ease, it
appeared that on the night of the 4th of Drcentber, the prisoner and
his wife lipd a qua.rel, which forirnated with the deceased,. who was
'e.cribed as a woman mut+ given to drinking, and extremely iiolein.
They were left together at Hight, and the next mortal g the deceased
was carded to the Hospital, where she languished f.r slime days, and
then died. The cause of her death was a fracture on her ribs, and
'hit, she saia she had received. ratan a chair which her husband had
tlormi n at her from jealuo.y ; she contes‘ed, however, that it wa‘ her
.wn fault, and toat she had aggravated ler .hipdopid. The prisimer
iiimself afterwards confessed,that he bad tiirown the cliair, but said he
w.s mach intoxicated.
Mr. Baron Wood, its summing itp the evidence, said, the crime
proved sgeinq the prisoner, could only amount to num:laughter, and
the Jury, after a abort consideraii-n. found a verdict accordingh.
Cathe-ine Turner was tried on an indictment, charging her with the
willirl murder of her bastard child

From the evidence adduced to support of this case, it appeared that
•m the 4th of Decemh.•r, a soldier, mimed Prendergast, while in the
wive of the 'muse in which he lodged i•i Fl.+.k•ruw, Che6ea, beard .
some person come in :o a huildine of a si nilHr 'mime adjoining, whisk
was only separated by a thin parti inn. Shortly after he heard deep
entails. and then the cry of a child. which was succeeded by a voice
ql,ich led him to conclude the child had fallen into the cesspool, as he
,Iry heard a anise like a child suffocating. The child was afterwards
picked up; it wait a feet le child, but no marks of external injury ap.
peered upon its p-rson. The facts were supported by other evidences
all of whom stated that the young woman, upon being asked why she
had thrown the child in the privy, said she had not done so, althoiagla
she admitted the child was there.

A medical Gentleman, named Olive,. waa then examined, and front
questions put to him, it appeared manliest !hat the circumstance which
bad taken place might arise hoes aturril causes. To this was added a
arietv of evidence, from which it appeared that the prisoner was a
•iiiist !marine creature; had not concealed her pregnancjr, which Was
•,uhlicly known; hut had made prepa►ations for the child, hasit.g coma
home in her mother to lie in.

MAP, thrse eircumsiattees, the Jury. without waiting fur the
rodee's charge, to the perfect satisfaction of the Court, acquitted the
prisoner.

SATURDAY.

Charles fineli Edwards, who was convicted last sessions of marrying
Anna Kinson, his former wife being in existence. hut whose judgement
was respited on account of an objection taken by the prisoner, founded
upon the fact of his second Mite's name beine Susannah and not,Anna,
was put to the bar; and informed by the Court that lihobjection was
not •ulid—llls convicion was therefore confismad.
CHARGE. OF FORGERY.
Thomas Mariann was next tried, on an indictment charging hi•o with
forgine an indorsement to n bill of Exchange for 011. and uttering that
bill so endorsed. well knowing it to be forged, with an intent to defraud
Edwin Hunt.

The facts of the case were these:—On the 17th of November last,
Mr. Edwin Hunt. who re,ides at Liverpool, enclosed three bilk of ex-
change, and two Bank notes, in a letter, for the purpose of sending them
to his brother, in London. One of these bills was for 601. and draws
upon Messrs. Jones, Lloyd. and CO., bankers in London. l'his letter
he grive to his clerk to put in the Post-office. brit the clerk either hit
the letter, or was robbed of it, before lie reached the Post-office. No-
tice of this circumstance w-ds sent to Lthidoir. On the rid of November
the prisoner left the bill for 60/. at ,he loose of Jones, and Cu.
for acceptance. On calling the next day, be was taken to tie count-
ing-house of Mr. John-Hunt, in Finch-lane, -s here he stated himself to
be a merchant, mid to have received the bill in question from a pedlar,
of the name of Edward Coelilan. whose endorsement was upon it, and
to whom he gave the full amount for it. This story not being credited,
the prisoner was taken befOre the Lori Mayor. A man was in com-
pany with'the prisoner when he called at the house of Jones, Lloyd,
and Co. whom he now said was the person who had endorsed it. This
man was found at a neighbouring polilic•lvoise, but on being interro-
gated, be said lie could I either rend nor write.
The Prisoner, in his defence, said. e kept a boarding-house at U.
verpowl int 11:1110',, and was acquainted with Coglikri, for whom ! e
discounted the bill rift the 10th of November last, and he endorsed it.

In s.ipport this defence the si,tt•r ,it the prisoner, and a man nacti•,i
Forbtill, proved that they were present when the prisoner *listen's:iota
the bill, unti saw Cu.hlan endorse it.
• Under these LiNutlistaticcs the prisoner was acquitted.