The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-22 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, AUGUST 22, 1863.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LivEur on, AUG. 21.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Blackburn.)
James O'Brien, aged 26, was indicted for having, on the
20th of June, at Liverpool, feloniously killed and mur.
dered Elizabeth Callaghan. As the name of the deceased
was not positively known, the prisoner was also indicted for
killing a person unknown.
Mr. Deighton and Mr. Samuells appeared for the prosecu-

tion, and Mr. Pope defended the prisoner.
The prisoner, it appeared, shortly before the 20th of
LJtilmneersatrrereivt.ed
Tinhey
this port,
to
t,and about four o'clock on that
morning he met with a woman named Mary Ann Mothers, in
a ale, after which they proceeded
eohuosne and had some
sekepthythe
deceased, in No. 5 Court, Spitalfields. The woman remained
with the prisoner until ho fell asleep, when she took ls. out
of his trowsers pocket. At that time there were five half-
ewne d
out her,
of andth
e
got up and
ds oo vwenr
se
ti
ag rss
aa
nn
dd spor mo
oensriel
dv esro
eh
ale,i s pocket.
which
she, The
twh oe
deceased,
as wented
severala nd someti tehse, rt personsakio gin thei ah ohnotuOs
se. d ran
Afterk. tShhi es r
thee p edaet
deceased
pfworeninsnotdnuetrhp,sasttapfioorasuk,
real:n:l
fs.ssshooevnea
rweaienerat
hhMaeadthh prisoner,ee
er
nfotallkow h
o accused the deceased of robbing him of his money, tut she
denied it. The prisoner then left the house with Mather,and,
after visiting a publichouse, they went to the police-office,and
could do nothing for him, and he then went away, evidently
informed a constable of
i netyhaegraoibabevryisi,tbaudtsheveasraaildptuhbaititahheopaosliecse
much dissatisfied.
and returned to the police-office, when the prisoner requested
the officers to have all the parties in the house apprehended;
but the police told him that they could do no such thing,
The prisoner then left, saying that he would have satisfac-
tion of his own, when the constable told him that he must
not carry out this intention or he would get himself into
trouble. The prisoner, accompanied by the woman Ma-
ther, then went to a cutler's shop directly opposite the
police-station, and purchased a sheath-knife, and borrowed
a stone, on which he sharpened it. The woman, fearing he
was about to commit some act of violence, made a motion to
the shopkeeper for him not to let the prisoner have the
of
knife, but he would not give it up, as he said he had paid
for it. They then left the shop and took a cab, the woman
telling the cabman to drive to Hotham-street ; but the pri-
soner said 6, No, drive to No. 5 Court, Spitalfields." The
Icabman drove them there and the prisoner went up the
swahi They went into the
threw
~
Don ,t her
y armsou
think round
his court,
neck whenand hecalled
e i
itihme
her deceased,
ale sweetheart.
h e d
house, and the prisoner sent for half a gallon of ale, and as
he was drinking a glasst
am a generous chap to come back and treat you after being
robbed of £5 ?" to which one of the women replied, " Yes,
I did not think you were so generous." The prisoner then
shut the door, and drawing the knife he had just before
purchased from his breast he rushed upon the deceased, and
stabbed her in the lower part of the stomach. She fell off
the chair, and was conveyed to the Northern Hospital,
where she soon after died, The prisoner after he had stabbed
the deceased left the house, and got into the cab, telling the
driver to take him away; but as the cabman had heard cries
of " Murder I" he thought there was something wrong, and
he called the first policeman he saw and gave the prisoner
into custody, when the knife was taken from him. The
prisoner was sober, and appeared perfectly calm and col-
lected.

The jury, after a few minutes' consultation, without leav-
ing the box, returned a verdict of guilty of wilful murder.
His Lordship then assumed the black cap, and proceeded
to pass sentence of death in the usual terms, at the same
time telling the prisoner that he had been found guilty on
the clearest possible evidence, and that ho need not enter-
tain any hope of mercy on this earth.
The prisoner, who conducted himself with great propriety
and evidently felt the position in which he had placed him-
self, was then removed from the bar.

George Gibson, aged 39, was charged with having felo-
niously murdered his wife on the 21st of June, at 55, Circus
street, Liverpool. _ _ .

Mr. Proston and Mr. Potter appeared for the prosecution,
and AIL Littler defended the prisoner.

It appeared that the prisoner lived most unhappily with
his wife. About 7 o'clock on the night in question he re-
turned home under the influence of drink and asked for his
supper, to which deceased replied that he had not provided
her with the means to get any. Some words ensued, and
the deceased struck him a blow on the face. Later in the
evening the deceased was going into the house, when the
prisoner rushed out of his room. The deceased called out,
" Oh, see what he has got in his hand I" and immediately
afterwards she gave a scream and ran into thekitchen,when
it was found that she bad been wounded in the side, and was
bleeding most profusely. The prisoner, after inflicting the
wound, returned to his own room, where he was apprehended
with a long chisel in his hands, on which were marks of
blood. An attempt was made to convey the deceased to the
Infirmary, but she was 100 weak to move, and, after suffer-
ing most acutely, she died on the 27th, six days after the
injury had been inflicted.
For the defence it:was urged, from the evidence given by
the medical men, that the deceased might have died from
natural causes; but should the jury be of opinion that it
was occasioned by the violence of the prisoner, the evidence
brought forward would justify them in returning a verdict
of manslaughter, as it was evident at the time he Inflicted
the wound he was through drink bereft of his reason, and
did not know what he was about ; or, to use the words of his
wife, "he appeared as if he was going mad, through the
effects of drink and dissipation."
The jury returned a verdict of guilty of manslaughter, and
His Lordehip sentenced the prisoner to be kept in penal
servitude for the remainder of his life.
_ _

EFzaheth Benyon, aged 17, was indicted for the wilful
murder of her child, Joseph Benyon, aged 12 months.
Mr. 11i2gin prosecuted, and Mr. Pope defended the pri-

goner.

This rase in its eireunistancfA was a nao:.;`, painfal and

horrible one. It appeared that the young woman, the pri-
soner at the bar, lived at a poor lodging at Eccles with her
infant child. On Monday night, the 15th June last, she
left her lodgings, taking her child with her, and she was
seen with it near the river at half-past 11 o'clock that
night. She did not return home till 8 o'clock next morning,
when she had not the child with her. On being asked what
had become of the child she said she had given it to a
woman whom she did not know to bring up for her. This
account not being deemed satisfactory she was taken into
custody by the police, and she then made a statement to
them that she had tied a stone round her child's neck and
thrown it into the river, at a spot which she afterwards
pointed out to the police, and that she had done so at the
instigation of a man whose name she mentioned. The river
was dragged, and at the spot pointed out by the prisoner
the body of her child, with a stone tied to its neck, was
found, as described. It was elicited from one of the wit-
nesses that the prisoner had complained that her father
.had repeatedly forced her to have incestuous connexion
with him, and had at last turned her and her baby out of
doors to starve.

The defence urged was that the treatment the prisoner
had received from her own father and her wretched condi-
tion and prospects had had such an effect on her mind that
in a fit of wretched despondency she had done what she
had done scarcely conscious what she was about,

The learned judge having summed up,
The jury found the prisoner guilty of wilful murder, but
with a strong recommendation to mercy.
His Lordship said ho would send this recommendation to
the proper quarter, and then, deeply affected, passed upon
the prisoner the awful sentence of death in the usual form.

This makes the fifth prisoner sentenced to bo hung at
these assizes, another prisoner having anticipated his fate
by hanging himself in his cell before his trial.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.---Aug. 21.

GREENWICH. Thomas Allan], William
Smith, and 'William Lamb, constables of the M
division of the metropolitan police were charged
before Mr. Traill with assaulting two young men
named William Thomas and Benjamin Woodnutt.
Mr. Wontner appeared for the complainants and
Mr. Lewis for the defendants.

The complainant Thomas, on being sworn said
that he resided with his mother, a shopkeeper, at
13, Millpond-street, Bermondsey. On the night of
Saturday, the 25th July, about half-past 12, he was
L returning home accompanied by the complainant
Woodnutt,at the house of whose sister they had
been staying at supper. When near Millpond-
bridge the defendants Allum and Smith, whom he
knew as plain-clothes constables, came up to them,
when Smith said, "'W'e have been looking for you,"
at the same timo applying an offensive epithet to
them. He asked Smith why they had been looking
for them, and also why such an expression was
' applied to them, when Smith struck him a violent
blow and knocked him down. On getting up and
saying he knew them to be policemen, Smith took
something from his pocket and struck him, again
knocking him down, and cansir, his eye to bleed.
Smith and. Allum then left and walked across the
road. He was bleeding from the wound to his eye
at the time, and called out " Police!" After walk-
: ing about 50 yards, Police constable Lamb, who
was in uniform, came up, and on'telling him they
had been ill-used by two constables in plain clothes
he ordered them to move on They asked if that
was all the satisfaction they were to receive, and
he pushed them along. He then went to the
house of his mother, and on knocking at the
' door Lamb came up and threatened to lock him up
if he did not get in doors. The street door was
opened by his mother, and he walked in, Lamb
orcing his way in after him, and pushing his
mother out of the way. On going behind the
counter Lamb endeavoured to pull him out, and,
finding he could not do so, he sprang hie rattle, and
some constables came. He was kicked in the side
by Lamb, who also took hold of him by the throat,
and on being got outside he found himself covered
with blood. At the time he was first assaulted by
Smith he was perfectly sober.
In reply to questions put, the complainant said
that when the charge of assault was preferred
against him at the station he attempted to make a
complaint of being assaulted by Smith, but there
were several constables there, who prevented his
doing so. They put their hands over his mouth
several times, and told him to hold his tongue. He
and Woodnutt were afterwards locked np, and Mr.
Maude dismissed the case against them.
Benjamin Woodnutt gave confirmatory evidence,
And said that on asking Smith why he had struck
Thomas, whose eye was bleeding, he was knocked
down by Allum, and that on getting up both be
and Smith ran away. As he was about to enter the
house of Thomas he received a violent blow on the
' back of the head, which caused him to fall on the
pavement, and rendered him insensible. He had
no recollection of anything for an hour or two
after being taken to the station.
Thomas Scott, a lighterman, said he was re-
turning from work on the night in question, and
saw the complainants assaulted and knocked down
by Allum and Smith, who then walked away. Corn-
pleinants called out "Police," and the constatle
Lamb came up and pushed the complainants. Wit-
ness saw a woman open the door of the house at
which Thomas knocked ; feeling unwell, he did not
atoo any longer, but went home.
Fanny Woodnut, of 9, Paradise-row, Rother-
hithe, and Ann Thomas,motber of the complainant
Thomas, gave confirmatory evidence.
Mr. Lewis suggested that as two distinct assaults
were alleged the defendants should be permitted to
be examined on oath for each other. This course
was agreed to, and they were examined apart from
each other. The statement of Lamb was that he
found the complainants creating a disturbance, and
that on requesting them to leave Thomas used a
vulgar expression and refused to do so, and that
Woodnutt having struck him in the chest and
knocked him down they both ran away; that he
then pursued them and overtook them at Thomas's
Mother's house, when Thomas struck him and
dragged him into the shop, and that on springing
his rattle Allem and Smith came to his assistance,
as also police-constable 309 M, and a civilian. The
defendants Allem and Smith said they were on
duty together, and hearing cries of " Help," and
seeing a crowd, they ran to the spot, and found
Lamb inside the shop, as also both complainants.
They both denied the assault upon complainants,
and also that that they had spoken to the constabte
Lamb previous to hearing cries for help.
Inspector Moore, who took the charge against
the complainants, gave it as his opinion that they
were both drunk. No charge against the constables
was male at the station.
Mr. Trail said he had given very great considera-
tion to the case, on account of its importance to the
public,
and his opinion was that a very flagrant
case of assault had been proved against Attune and
Smith, and if it had been satisfactorily shown that
they had had (as was suggested) a conversation with
Lamb, and put him on to the complainants, finding
that they (the constables) had committed an assault
and were known, he should not deal so lightly with
the case as he was then about to do. Lamb had,
however, been guilty of a gross violation of duty,
becsuse, on his own statement, he had taken into
custody Thomas, wtio had not committed an assault
upon him. It had been a rule laid down by him
now for nearly a period of 30 years that for assaults
committed upon constables, except when grievous,
where the offender's name and address were known,
that the constable should not act in his own case,
but proceed in the ordinary way by information.
This rule, he believed, the Commissioners of Police
had acted upon. With regard to Lamb, he should
impose a fine of 405,, leaving it to the Commissioners
afterwards to deal with him as they might think
fit, and with regard to the other defendants ho was
prepared either to send the case to the sessions or
to deal with it summarily as they might prefer.
The defendants consulted with their solicitor, and
elected to have the case sent to the sessions, upon
which

i'dr. Trail then ordered the defendants to be com-
mitted for trial at the next Old Bailey sessions.

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The Cologne Gazette announces that the railway
train which left that city in the evening of the 17th went
off the rails between Bingen and Mentz, when several per-
sons were killed. The stoppage caused by the overturning
of the carriages has probably delayed the arrival of letters
and journals from Frankfort.

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