The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-30 00:00:00

THE CORRINGHAIS CASE.

Martha Howell was indicted for shooting at Emma
Johnson, at Corringham, on the 17th of Juno, with intent
to murder her.
Mr Fitzjames Stephen conducted the prosecution ; and
Mr Sergeant O'Brien defended the prisoner.
The case presented very peculiar circumstances. The pri-
soner is a schoolmistress, living at Springthorpe, and the
prosecutrix lived at Gaimborough, but was in the habit of
going over to Springthorpe and other places in the neigh-
bourhood to give music lessons. She had been accustomed
to give lessons to the prisoner's pupils, and at such times
had usually slept in the prisoner's house with her. Some
time back some little dispato had arisen between prisoner
and the prosecutrix, the origin of which was not very
clear. It either arose from the prosecutrix having given
lessons at another school at Springthorpe which the pri-
soner regarded as having been set up in opposition to her,
or because the prosecutrix had refused to side with the pri-
soner in some quarrel the latter had had with some rela-
tives, and had attempted to remain on friendly terms with
both parties. Whatever may have been the cause, the
visits of the prosecutrix to the prisoner had become less
frequent, and on the last occasion or two when the prose-
cutrix had slept at the prisoner's house, the prosecutrix had
come to her in the dead of night with a pistol and had
threatened to shoot her unless their former intimacy was
thoroughly re-established; In consequence of these occur-
rences the prosecutrix had refused to visit the house of the
prisoner again,and,alth ough they were not entirely estranged
the relations between them were far less cordial than they
had been. On the day in question the prisoner had
gone with two of her pupils to Gainsborough, and,
having seen the prosecutrix, had induced her to
accompany them part of the way back to Springthorpe. On
arriving at a field gate near Corringham the prisoner had
again pressed the prosecutrix to return to her house, and,
on being refused, said, "I'll shoot you." The prosecutrix
said, " No, don't ;" but the prisoner pulled a pistol from
her pocket and fired it in the face of her friend. The latter
fell down, bat, recovering soon after, got up, and, seeing
the pistol in her hand feeling in her pocket, ran away. The
prisoner went home and sent for a neighbur, who found her
very excited. She told this neighbour that she had shot
Miss Johnson, but was sorry she had not killed her. Her
intention was. she said, to shoot her friend first and then
herself, and to die at her feet. These statements she repeated
to the constables, when she was apprehended, adding that
the pistol was loaded with a thimbleful and a half of powder,
some shot. and a ball. The forehead of the prosecutrix was
scorched by the powder, but she had suffered no further in-

jury.
Mr Sergeant O'Brien, for the defence, commented on the
peculiarity of the case and the absence of any sufficient mo-
tive for the offence. Ho ccntended the prisoner had no
intention of taking her friend's life, and that the statement
that the pistol was loaded with shut and ball could not be
relied upon. No trace had been found of any shot or ball.
It was more probable that the whole thing was a pretence
and a sham—a strange, wild device to bring back the wan-
dering affections of her friend, and that no injury was in-
tended.
Tho jury were absent from court in deliberation about
half an hour, and upon their return found the prisoner
Guilty of shooting at the prosecutris with intent to do her
grievous bodily harm.
When the prisoner, a slight woman, dressed in blaek,who
had kept her handketchief to her face during the whole
of the trial, was asked what she had to esy why- sentence