The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-06 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT—CROYDON, AUG. 5.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Baron Channell.)
Joseph Hawes, 40, was charged with the wilful murder
of his wife, Sarah Hawes.
Mr. Sharpe conducted the prosecution. The prisoner
was defended by Mr. Ribton and Mr. Oppenheim.
The facts of this case have appeared within the last few
days,

Although the ptisoner was charged with the serious
offence of wilful murder, the case was opened as one that
only involved the crime of manslaughter, and the death of
the deceased appeared to have arisen out of an affray that
took place between her and the prisoner, she being at the
time in a state of intoxication. It appeared that the pri-
soner was a labouring man, and that be and his wife and
five children occupied a back room at No. 84, Upper
Ground-street, Blackfriars-road. The circumstances con-
nected with the transaction were not established very clearly
by the evidence, but according to the testimony of two
women, named Chatfield and Beagin, who lodged in the
house, the prisoner came home from his work be-
tween six and seven o'clock in the evening of the 16th of
July, and at that time the deceased was at home, and
there was very little doubt that she was the worse for liquor.
Very soon after the prisoner went to his room a quarrel
appeared to have taken place between him and his wife,
and there were sounds as of blows and falls, and the de-
ceased was heard to call out " Murder !" The two women
referred to went up to the prisoner's room, and they saw
the deceased lying upon the ground across the fender, but
when they endeavoured to go into the room the prisoner
closed the door against them, and said ho would serve any
man or woman who interfered in the same way that he
served his wife, and he at the same time made use of
a foul expression to the deceased, and told her to get up,
and she muttered something in reply which was in-
audible. The deceased continued insensible from this
time until her death, which °centred a very few
hours afterwards. The prisoner had, in the interval, left
the house, and he was Sound by a police-constable nane:d
Mansfield et the Windmill public-house close by, and upon
his telling him that he must take him into custody upon the
charge of murdering his wife, he replied " It is all through
drink. She drank half a pint of whisky off at a draught. I
went out to get half a pint of beer, and I saw my second
child crying, and told her to tell her mother to getup, and
she said she could not speak." The prisoner afterwards
said, " God bless her, I would not hurt a hair of her head,"
Upon the body of the deceased being examined, a number
of contusions were found upon her face, and there was also
a slight wound upon the left temple, which in the opinion
of Mr. Coppin, the surgeon, was caused by falling against
the fender, and he also stated in cross-examination that
several of the injuries that ho observed upon the person of
the deceased, and which were, undoubtedly, the cause of
death, might have been caused by falls, although he at the
same time said he was of opinion that they must have been
caused by blows and falls conjointly. It also appeared by
the medical testimony that the brain of the deceased was
diseased and presented appearances of her having been ad-
dicted to habits of intemperance, There was no doubt, how-
ever, from the facts of the case, that the prisoner had been
guilty of very brutal violence to the deceased.
Mr. Ribton made an earnest appeal to the jary on behalf
of the prisoner, and he contended that in the first place there
was no positive proof that the death of the deceased was
caused by blows inflicted by the prisoner, and that there was
no evidence to show that he had struck her at all, and
secondly, he urged that even supposing they should come
to the conclusion that the prisoner did strike the deceased,
and that her death was the result, that the offence did not,
at the utmost, amount to a higher crime than manslaughter.
The learned Judge having summed up, the Jury retired
to deliberate, and in about half an hour they returned into
court and found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter.
His lordship, in passing sentence, said there could be no
doubt that the prisoner had caused the death of his wife by
very brutal violence, and the only circumstance in his favour
was that the act did not appear to have been premeditated.
The jury had therefore very properly convicted him of man-
slaughter only; but, under all the circumstances, he felt it
to be his duty to order him to be kept in penal servitude fer
10 years.
Thos.Wilson, 23, was charged with feloniously wounding
Richard Waklen, with intent to do hits grievous bodily harm,
and also with intent to murder him,

Mr. J. Sharpe conducted the prosecution on behalf of the
Treasury. The prisoner bad no counsel.
The prosecutor in this case is one of the warders of the
WokingConvict Prison, and the prisoner was a convict con-
fined in that prison, under a sentence of three years'
penal
servitude, at the time the offence was committed. It ap-
peared that on the 16th of April the prisoner was is one of
the wards of the prison, called the knitting-shed, in the
charge of the prosecutor, and according to his evidence the
prisoner, who is a cripple and walks with a crutch, without
the slightest provocation, raised the crutch with both hands,
and struck him a tremendous blow on the head, which
knocked him down and rendered him insensible, and he was
about to do more violence upon him when he was seized by
one of
and he was secured.
of his fellow-prisoners, who held him until assistance
rri a
t Te tearpdrei sr, on
waser,
always when called"at
hira,
upon,,
and for hisw a defence,
tes
leaveaid hithreat

alone. He also said that he had been in the infirmary of the
prison for a considerable time, where they gave him codliver
oil and gentian, in order, as he stated, to create an appetite,
and when he came out the prosecutor recommenced his old
practice of annoying him in every possible manner; and en
the day in question he pulled out his staff, when he thought
he was going to strike him with it, and he said he hit him
with the crutch in self-defence.
The prosecutor was recalled, and in answer to questions
put by the learned Judge, he declared that there was not
the slightest truth in the story told by the prisoner, and he
said that he did not even know the prisoner was in the ward
at the time he received the blow from him.
The jury found the prisoner guilty of wounding with
intent to dg grievous bodily harm, and he was sentenced to
four years' penal servitude, to date from the present time.
A man named Reed was indicted for attempting to cut
and wound another man, with intent to kill him.
The case was of a very painful character, although, hap-
pily, no injury had been inflicted. When the prisoner was
arraigned yesterday, he pleaded guilty. His counsel, how-
ever, suggested that there was some doubt as to his state of
mind, and this morning he was placed again at the bar, and
the surgeon of the gaol was called, and stated that to the
best of his belief the prisoner eould understand the nature
of the charge and the evidence, although he was subject to
aberrations of mind, which left him lucid intervals. Upon
this,

The learned Judge left it to the jury whether the prisoner
was of sound mind, so as to be able to understand the charge
gineveoxlv explained
an ed
intent t o him thel natureo n of the
wh
ich
The to
kill,
and the evidence.
The jury found that he was. He was again called upon
iu
to plead, and
chaTrhgeo,leaanrnd
ha
etdJt iudt
The prisoner said he did not certainly do the act with
that intent, and there he should plead not guilty.
At a later period of the day the ease came on for trial.
Mr. Best conducted the prosecution ; Mr. Lilley and Mr.
Laxton appeared for the defence.
The prisoner, who is still a young man and had enjoyed
a very good character, and had been, it appeared, a preacher
among the Primitive Methodists, had been acquainted for
some years with the prosecutor, and it appeared from the
cross-examination that the prisoner's wife had left him,
and that this had preyed upon his mind. It was something
with reference to this which gave rise to the occurrence.
The prisoner, it appeared, had married while he was young,
and had lately taken proceedings against his wife in the
Divorce Court; and it seemed from the cross-examination
that the prisoner, somehow or other, connected the prose-
cutor with the misfortune of his marriage, and meeting him
in the streets made one or two stabs at him with a knife,
and cut his coat, but happily was prevented from doing any
injury. He said at the time, lam not a boy of 17 now, but
a man of 28. The prosecutor's wife, who was present at the
time, swore that the prisoner said he came all the way from
Woolwich to kill her husband, and that, though he had
failed with steel, he should succeed with lead, and he re-
peated this before the police.
The knife was produced, but was quite blunt. It was a
glazier's putty-knife.
Mr. Lilley, in addressing the jury for the prisoner, sug-
gested that he had been stung to madness about his wife,
and was suffering under an aberration of mini at the time
he did the act.
The surgeon of the gaol was called, and stated that, in
his belief, the prisoner had no aberrations in his intellect,
but he talked so wildly on religious matters that he thought
he was not quite right in his mind on these matters. He
also talked about his wife, and appeared very excited, and
was rather violent. He spoke about his wife and "the
lawyer."

Cross-examined by Mr. Best—He talked wildly on reli-
gious matters, but might have been sane on all others. He
spoke of the prosecutor as having introduced his wife to
him, and he ascribed all his misfortunes to him. He said
she had been living with some " Scripture Reader."
Another witness gave the prisoner a good character as
connected with temperance Meetings, and as a quiet in-
offensive man. He seemed very much affected about his wife,
and was always speaking
about her. The witness went to
see him in gaol and asked him how he came to do such a
mad act. The prisoner said that the Lord Jesus Christ had
sent him to do it, and he wished he had killed the prosecu-
tor, as then he should have gone home to his Heavenly
Father. He said he had commenced proceedings against
his wife, but that the lawyer had refused to go on any fur-
ther without more money, having already had all he had.
The learned Judge said this was not the proper course of
evidence. The proper inquiry—to raise the defence now
suggested—would be whether the prisoner knew the nature
of his actions and was in a such a state of mind as to be re»
sponsible.
The witness being asked this question, said he hardly
thanßest—`
Yell,
the prisoner was in such a state of mind. 1
Being cross-examined by Mr. Best, the witness said he
had met the prisoner chiefly at temperance meetings.
Mr.
at
those
meetings,hecould lcaoairoddlyhe have bees otherwise
quiet
The witness said no, but he seemed always quiet in his
disposition. Re spoke always of his wife, and said, as he
could not have justice by law, he thought he would get it
on the man who introduced him to her.
Another witness gave the prisoner a good character, hay-
ing known him for years ; and stated further that he had
gone with him in search of his wife, and had found her in a
house with another man, who put his fist in his face. The
prisoner had said again and again that the prosecutor had
persuaded him to Wall the woman, knowing her to be a
prostitute.
Another witness, wh° gave prisoner a good character,
stated that when he spoke of his wife he was not the same
person. He said also that the prosecutor had led him into

he marriage.
Another witness gave similar evidence.
The prisoner's brother, who gave evidence of the same
character, stated that the prosecutor had said that he be-
lieved he might have intercourse with the woman whom he
had recommended to the prisoner as his wife.
Mr. Best, in reply on the part of the prosecution, urged
that the evidence for the defence not only showed no insane
delusion, but went quite to disprove it, because it went to
show real or rational grounds for the feelings he entertained.
The
very serious and somewhat compli-
cated hae must request their close and careful
would observe that the indictment
attentiondi
d not, to
ando
it. Theyeo
convicted
t be could
and the charge was, " attempting
to wound, with s a learned
aarassumed
Judges in summing up the case to the jury,
a
d it hadr t
esrs
u,and h
charge a wounding, for, in fact,
none was inflicted;
nviet upon this indictment. But
not,
h intent to kill." So that the case re-
solved itself really into intent to kill ;" and if the
prisoner used the
knife without any intention to kill,
he could n
the law also laid it down that, however serious the offence,
if tee man at the time of the committal of the act did not
know its nature, he must be acquitted on the ground of
insanity. That is supposing there were all the requisites of
the offence except the possession of a sane mind. The
question resolved itself into the two-fold question, whether
the prisoner attempted to wound, and with intent to kill.
That is, in short, whether he used the knife with that intent.
If he used the knife without that intent, and with any
other intent—as, for instance, to frighten and terrify the
prosecutor-- he was entitled to an absolute acquittal. But, if
he used the knife with the mind and purpose to destroy life,
then there would be the offence charged, unless he was in
such a state of mind that he was not master of his actions,
and was under such delusions that he did not know that he
was doing what was wrong, and in that case he must be ac-
quitted on the ground of insanity. The law on that subject
bad been maturely considered and laid down in the House
of Lords in Macnaghten's case, and the result was as he had
stated it. The learned Judge then went into the evidence
with the utmost care, especially with reference to the pri-
soner's state of mind, as to which he told the jury the ques-
tion was whether he was in such a state of mind at the
time ho committed the act as to be able to know right from
wrong and to know that he was doing what was wrong.
The evidence of insanity,
he observed, was somewhat slight,
and the great question was, were the jury justified that the
prisoner used the knife with intent to kill ? If, however, they
thought he did so use it, they must consider whether, hav-
ing that intent, he did not at the moment know that it was
a crime. If they thought that he had the intent, and was
responsible for his actions, of course they must find him
guilty. If they thought he had the intent, but was not in a
state of mind to know the nature of his actions, they must
acquit him on the ground of insanity. If they thought that
he had not the intent they must acquit him absolutely.
The jury considered their verdict,and, after some minutes,
found the prisoner not guilty on the ground of insanity.
The learned Judge said he would be detained in custody
during her Majesty's pleasure.
(Before Mr. Baron Bramwell.)
A man named Jeffery was charged with cutting the
throat of his landlady.
Mr. Laxton appeared for the prosecution.
The facts were very simple; the only remarkable point
was the absence of apparent motive. It appears that the
prisoner came home as usual, met his landlady, accused
her of laughing at him, and then forced her head back and
inflicted two gashes on her throat, one four the other two
inches long and half an inch deep. She became insensible,
and remembered nothing further till she found herself in
Guy's Hospital.
The prosecutrix was called, and corroborated all the facts
opened by Mr. Laxton.
The constable who apprehended the prisoner said that he
made a statement to the effect that prosecutrix laughed at
him, and he cut her throat with a clasp-knife, which he
produced.
The surgeon of Guy's Hospital was called, and deposed
to the nature of the wounds.
The prisoner made a statement to the effect that he was
drunk at the time, and remembered nothing about it.
The learned Judge directed the jury that drunkenness
was no excuse for the crime, but, as the crime was appa-
rently without motive, they would consider whether or not
the prisoner was of sound mind.
The jury, after a short deliberation, found the prisoner
guilty of rounding with intent to murder.
Baron Bramwell said that the case was of so peculiar a
nature that he would consider the sentence.
Gao l.
The prisoner was then removed to Horsemonger-lane

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—APPLEBY, Aug. 4.
Mr. Justice Mellor arrived at this ancient borough at 11
o'clock last night from Lowther Castle, where his lordship

and the bar had been entertained with the usual princely
hospitality of the Earl of Lonsdale.
The commission was opened immediately on his lord-

ship's arrival.
This morning, after attending Divine service, his lord-
ship took his seat in court scon after 10 o'clock, and charged
the grand jury,
There were no civil causes, and the calendar contained an
entry of seven prisoners, five of whom are women—one
charged with the murder of her illegitimate child, two
charged with concealment of birth, and the rest charged
with various larcenies.

Agnes Pattinson was indicted for the wilful murder of her
infant female child at the parish of Windermere, on the 2d
of April last.

Mr. Fowler and Mr. Campbell Foster prosecuted. The
prisoner had no counsel.

It appeared that the prisoner, being pregnant, went into
the Milnthorp Workhouse to be confined in February last.
She was confined of a fine female child on the 13th of
March, which had the peculiarity of being born with a large
quantity of long black hair on its head. The prisoner re-
covered, and on the Ist of April she left the workhouse
with her child, having been cautioned by the matron, Mrs.
M'Gowan, to take great care of it. The child was then
healthy and well, and was dressed in some child's clothes
given to the prisoner by Mrs. M'Gowan, some of them the
property of the workhouse, and marked. On the afternoon
of the 2d of April, about 3 o'clock, the prisoner, carrying
her child, called on a female acquaintance of her s named
Abbatt, and said she was going to Staveley. There she had
a cup of tea, and showed her child's head of hair to Mrs.
Abbatt, and seemed kind to the child. At 7 o'clock that
night she was met near the Windermere station, where the
railway has an arch crossing the road to Bowness, by a man
named Park, who noticed her, from her appearing tired in
her walk, carrying a small bundle, but no child. This was
about four miles from Mrs. Abbatt's house. About nine
o'clock she called at a farm-house, and sent in a message to
one of the farm men servants named Dacre, wanting to see
him, and asked him to set her on her road to Town End.
He did so, At that time she had no child and no bundle.
He had first known her six months before, when she was
pregnant, and he had then joked her about her state, and
asked her if a cough she had was a breeding cough. On this
occasion she coughed, and said, " I have still got the breed-
ing cough; I have not had one, and it is still to get." She
went to a farm house at Ossett Head as domestic servant,
and was there on the 13th of April, when one of the railway
porters, wanting to take a short cut from the Bowness-read
to the railway, went up the embankment, and on his way
found a bundle concealed under some laurels. He carried
it to the top of the bank, and there he and the station-mas-
ter discovered in the bundle the dead body of a female in-
fant. A doctor and the police were sent for, and the body
was examined, and a post mortem examination made. There
were no outward marks of violence, and the internal organs
were all healthy ; but, on examining the head, it was dis-
covered that a triangular piece of bone, about half an inch
across it, had been driven in the brain, the skull having
been fractured. This injury had caused the death of the
child, and it must have arisen from a heavy blow with some
blunt instrument, or from a fall from a height on a hard
substance. No mere fall from a woman's arms could have
inflicted the injury, taking into consideration the yielding
nature of an infant's head, inquiries caused the prisoner to
be taken into custody, and two days afterwards a small
bundle was found in the garden of the Rev. Mr. Lowndes,
of Windermere, which abuts on the road, within 300
yards of the place where the body of the child was
found. These clothes and an old cape, which was
wrapped round the body of the child when found,
were identified by Mrs. M'Gowan as those which
she had given to the prisoner, and the body of the child
was also identified by her as the prisoner's child from its
long hair and general appearance. On being confronted
with Mrs. M'Gowan the prisoner denied at first that she
knew her, or that she had ever been in the Milnthorpe
Workhouse, or had had a child. Mrs. M'Gowan took her
by the hand, and said, " Oh, Agnes, you should tell the
truth." The prisoner then burst into tears, and said, "I
should not have done it, or I should not have done so, had
my father not turned me out of doors and turned his back
on me three years ago."
This was the case for the prosecution.
The prisoner wished to have a counsel assigned to speak
for her, but the case being over,
His Lordship asked her what she wished to say to the
jury?

The prisoner, who is a fair, little, sulky looking girl of
about 20 years of ago, said she let the child fall as she was
getting over a stile, and it died afterwards in her arms.
She did not like to give herself up to the police, but took
the body and placed it where it was found, as near to the
police-station as she could.
His Lordship most carefully summed up the evidence,
and told the jury that he could not at that time take upon
himself, without the prisoner's previously expressed wish,
the responsibility of assigning counsel to defend her, when
a single incautious question arising from insufficient instruc-
tion might lead to most serious results.
The jury, after but a short consultation, found the prisoner
guilty, but recommended her to mercy.
His Lordship then assumed the black cap, and bidding
the prisoner not to be led away by false hopes, but to pre-
pare for the solemn fate that awaited her, passed upon her
the awful sentence of death in the usual form, directing her
body to be buried in the precincts of the gaol.
For a great number of years this is the only charge of
murder that has arisen in this county, and the fate of this
wretched 3 oung woman seemed to excite a most painful
impression in court.
This case finished the assizes.