The National Register.
London, England, 1817-07-07 00:00:00

31IDDn'S'E1g.W. OA'S.

Taesday. G. Barber, a weaver, of York street, Bahnai-gr-en,
was charged with a series of cruelties to his apprentice, Mary Elder,
a child apparently It years of ago.
The object of persecution stet: d that her master took a pleasure in,
heating her with a cane, a shuttle, and a tremendous instanitet;ts
called a dreet, with whieh he frequently :truck ker on the head and
legs. The pretence for this bmtality was her inahility to do the
work be weagneri to her. The seventies to which she was thus ex.
poeed mimed her in ,;,r 7.tontlis to a sate from which it wits gene.
rally supposed she wor:1:1 never TVIALI. Iler &Nile was the leas
able to endure such treatment, as her mercer applied a system a
torture to her stomach, which was proi•ortioned. as neer a he censial
guess, to the-pain he indicted on her :and and legs—the agony of
Imager. She had keen without dinner fits many days, aid was
rii-arl to ask for any, as the request would but &Ward him a new Tu.
text for raising lumps uu her head. cutting her shins, and rulin7g
her akptin.4 the ground. Iter master's wife often said she would not
endure to nee such aboneinable trehtment, but her expmtuLetions
bad the effect of increasing her punishment. At knob, infonnr-
tient was given to the parish to bdOilged; when tKe Over-
seers rescued her from death. Upon being brought to the Work-
house her wounds ece-e ere,sea, and time and care brought. her t a
slight nimbi:Ace of ::hat she heti once Leon.
I.pou her cross-examination, she said site well knew tho nature of
an oath ; and never remembered having cut work out of a Inane, cr
having done e.ny thing out of spite to Ir7r mater.
'l'. I taxi+, I:ves next door to the defcndaAt, heard greet mrma-
big groaning from her thoost every day 5 u the ;est ht num tbs,
and frecttently her bread ulscat her cor.rlaining she had no
food.lmmediately beftre she was taken by the Overseers, there
was net a bit of create an her bones ; her hones appeared brealchlg
thsongh her skin, and she !coked a pert ct skeleten.
Mr. }.and-Wore. a surgeon. examined the child en the sa of May;
the was exceedingly entacited, and her stomach revolted from toed
for several days. 'Phis he ateribed to long feting. There was a
dropsical appearance in her legs and hand::. attributable to the Larne
eats e. Upon her tots were ulcerated chilblains, the cousequeeces of
the most cruel neglect; and on one of her legs was a large brute.,
apparently from a stick. The titst, second, and third days of the
witness's attendance upon her, she was in a dangerous state, but by
great care she was recovering. Poultices were applied to her feet, to
revert mortification. She could not have lived another month un-
der such circonntancein

Mr. AdOlpilllS, for the defendant. mid, he had nethlngagnirsst all
this evidence. The case had been clearly made out ; and murk
peal c was due to the Overseer of the Parish for the alacrity whit
wi lilt he had interposed. It was a [ESC upon which the excivise of b•-
gent.ity would be silly and presumptuous. and would subject
the Counsel who made use oi such ingenuity to a suspicion fur front
being very favourable to him in any future application of evidence
beihre the same Jury. Theo_ was, however, one thing which he
could not omit to state. Ills client wits a man of reliAi,is exterior;
and it was the pmvinec of the Jury to determine, whether his out-
ward arty were correlnindeot with tlio::e which entitled men to tl e
repute of sanctity. Parislies would, lie trusted, Iteik to the rentlo-t
of metiers ; and bring ty rants, by the exercise of wholesome 11,136-
'4IIW, to something resembling a state of moral feeling and hu-
manity.
'lr. _Adolph= had previously crows-examined all the witnesses ;
but nothing threw the slightest doubt mam their credibility.
Several persons swore that the defendant was honest and indiis•
trims, and that he was r•gtilar in his nuendance rhiees of to ii e
worillix To ire of thoi.e white:nes, who was describing the thar.a.
ter of the defendant as excellent in (very rerpect,
A Juryman las this num a Chita ?
Vijut. AS-1 le has one, and lie buried rine within a fortnight.
e Jury insn.ntly returned a verdict of—Guilty.
I e Chairman, after Inuit% consulted with the MnOstrracs. raid,
" Prisoner. you have been found guilty of a moat atrocious 0hm...-
There is temething so repugnant in your conduct to this root. infant.
to till law of humanity. and all the feelinga of a parent, a character
which wi h surpri,e I Irain that you hear, es to rimier it exttemely
difEcult u. apprtion your punishment to your ottcoce. If your un-
ferment, • itatm had not bet n taken from your env: eagle power, yea
n: at Frei:tidy have forfeited yeti upon the chary:: of hay.
in g taken It, *e. It Is a disgrace to the country, that a wretch saya-
ble arms: c othy towards r.n unprotected infant should be Mural in
ft. I will tr rk your arm.° let as to deter others teem imitating it.
The sent of the Court is. that you be imptiennul two years in the
House of o Section ; where I hope in your solitary cell you wtp
creiae that lilt of the relig:to yoll line iiisidual he your Ityptrio
repentruice." The seatcn-.1 apps r:e :c. ter. 4/1
the Court.