The Sun.
London, England, 1865-10-25 00:00:00

The Extraordinary Charge at Stafford.

Yesterday morning, George Francis Griffith and Thyrza
Tunstall, surrendered to their bail before the sitting magis-
trates at the Town-hall, Stafford, charged with the conceal-
ment of the birth of the illegitimate child of tho female
prisoner, the male prisoner being the reputed father of the
said child.

The case was partly investigated at the inquest, which
was held at Dolgelly a few days after the child had been
found on the bank of the river Mawddach in the county of
Merionethshire, on the 23d of September, and the magis-
terial investigation has been postponed several times for
various reasons.

Mr. Bowen, solicitor at Stafford, appeared for the prose-
cution; Col. Hogg, chief constable, and Mr. Supezintendent
Oswell, deputy chief constable of the county constabulary,
being also present; Mr. Motteram, barrister, of the Oxford
Circuit, instructed by Mr. R. W. Hand and Mr. Stafford,
defending the prisoner Griffin; Mr. Geo. Palmer, solicitor,
of Rugeley, defending Thyrza Tunstall.
Ann Dyche, a servant of Mr. Griffin, son., with whom his
son, the prisoner, lived, said she did not know the female
prisoner was iu the family way, nor did she see any prepa-
rations made for a baby being born. The prisoner confessed
to her that she had been delivered of a child.

Henry Thomas Lomax, a surgeon practising at Stafford,
saw the female prisoner on Sept. 28th, and was satisfied
she had been recently delivered. She admitted she had a
child, and said there was no use sending for him, as it died
immediately after its birth.
Benjamin Thomas Oswell said—l am superintendent of
police at Stafford, and on Thursday, the 28th, I saw Thyrza
Tunstall at Messrs.Griffins' house. I told her of the charge
against her, and we were followed by Mr. John Griffin, the
prisoner's father, Col. Hogg, and Capt. Clough. When there
the prisoner cried and appeared to be very much distressed,
and said, " I beg Mr. Griffin you'll forgive me." I then be-
gan to search the room and Ann Dyche came in. The pri-
soner said, "Oh Ann, whatever shall I do?" and "Oh Ann,
if you'd only stayed in the room that morning this would
not have happened. I did not think I was so ill. I think I
saw it breathe, and then I fainted and fell on the floor."
As I searched the prisoner asked what I was searching for,
and I said for the other part of this—pointing to the bot-
tom part of a pillow case which Capt. Clough then held in
his hand. She said, "Oh I don't think you'll find it, for I
cut it up and threw it down the closet in the yard." In
consequence of a message I went toWorthington's house and
saw Thyrza Tunstall there. She said, "Oh, Mr. Oswell,
I'm glad you've come, for I've been waiting to see you.
Don't you think it's a great shame that Mr. George should
be liberated ?" That was after they had been before the
Bench, and Mr. Griffin had been admitted to bail. She con-
tinued speaking, and said, " Oh, Mr. °swell, you may take
me into Wales and do what you like with me there ; but
don't let me go into this gaol, for I shall break my heart if
over I enter Stafford prison. If Mr. Griffin know, I'm sure
he'd bail me out himself. What I want you to do is to see
Mr. Griffin and Mr. Buckstone, for I'm sure either of them
would bail me out." I understood her to refer to Mr.
Griffin, sen. She had told me she had lived as servant to
Mr.Buckstone. I told her I could not see either of these
parties, but I would see her mother and tell her what she
wanted, and prisoner said, "Do so." I then got up to go
away, and she said, " Oh, Mr. Oswell, don't go yet ; don't
leave me alone, for I feel quite alone now that Mr. George
has turned his back upon me, and wants to put the whole
of the blame on my shoulders. But he shan't ; it is his
child, and he ought to have married me, and not to have lot
this disgrace fall upon us both."
Mr. Motteram objected to the reception of the conversa-
tion, on the ground that it was not evidence against Griffin,
and did not tend to establish any guilt on Tunstall.
Superintendent Oswell, continuing: I said to her, "Now,
mind what you say. You should be careful and not talk
about this matter carelessly, for what you now say may be
used by me in evidence against you. Mind, I am for the
prosecution." Sho replied, "Ah 1 Dr. Lomax told me
so. He said I was a fool, and ought to hold my
tongue. He tells me this every time he sees me, and so
does Mr. Hutchinson." She said, " Well, Mr. Oswell, I'll
toll you the whole truth about it, for I'm not going to be
sent to gaol while he's at liberty, and perhaps
laughing about the matter. You must know that
about a year and a half ago Mr. George was ill and con-
fined to hisbed, and I had to wait upon him night and day.
As he recovered he took liberties with me. Some months
ago I thought something was the matter and I told him
so. He said I was frightened ;it was all nonsense. I
told him so again and again, and at last he advised me to
put a ring upon my finger and go to Birmingham and seem
surgeon and be examined. I never did go. I could not
make up my mind. I had medicine from Drs. Lomax and
Averill, and at last.on the Wednesday I was very poorly
indeed, and on that day Mr. George went to his brother's.
I was very ill all that night and next morning, and about
10 o'clock I had the child. I thought I saw it breathe. I
fainted and fell on the floor, and when I came to myself I
thought the baby was dead, and put it under the bed. I
then got into bed, fearing the servants would come into the
room, as they knew I was poorly. I lay in bed all that
day, and when Mr. George came home at night I met him
in the passage and told him what h.;.d happened. He asked
me if the baby was dead, and I said I thought it was, and
I had hidden it under the bed. 1 said, Mr. George, you
must not think of going away to Wales to-morrow and
leave me in this state, for I'm afraid the other servants will
find Rout.' He said ho had an appointment and he must
go, and he thought he had better take the baby with him.
The next morning I put the baby in the bag, he had
wrapped it in some newspapers. I took it to Mr. George's
dressing-room and gave it to him. He wrapped it in
some brown paper, and then tied it up. Ho left for
Wales by the mid-day train, and soon after he was
gone I began to think the name might be upon the.
newspaper. This made me very uneasy, and I never
rested until he returned on Tuesday night, when I
asked him what ho had done with the baby. He
said, 'Oh ! it's all right. I've thrown it into the sea.' I
told him how I had worried myself about the name being
upon the newspaper, and be said, 'Pooh pooh ! It's all
right. It's only in pencil, and the water will soon wash
that out.' I then rested contented, and oh ! Mr. Oswell,
whoever would have thought this could have been found
out. However, when I get out of this I'll never come back
to Stafford again. Mr. George ought to marry me or settle
something upon me for life. Don't you think he ought ?
She then began to cry and go into the matter again, and
shortly afterwards I left the room." I searched, but did
not find any baby linen. I produce a carpet-bag and some
linen—torn, not cut—also part of a pillow-case and two
other pillow-cases I found in her room on a subsequent day.
I also produce a copy of the Manchester Examiner and
Times, with the name of "Mr. G. F. Griffin" on it. I found
that paper in the sitting room.
The evidence taken in Wales was then called, and the
finding of the body of the child, the identification of the
papers, the presence of Mr. Griffin at Dolgelly, and the