The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-04 00:00:00

THOMAS T. SHIRLEY.

This was another action brought by the same
plaintiff against the defendant, to recover upon a
contract he was alleged to have entered into, and
which was contained in the letter produced in the
former trial, for the support of the child of the
plaintiff.
It was arranged, however, that the case should be
referred, and no evidence was consequently gone
intap

CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin.)
The gaol calendar for the eastern division of the
county contains the names of 20 prisoners, and that
for the western of 5, and a great many of the
offences are of a most serious character, there being
several charges of mitt-der, attempts to murder,
arson, &c.
Bessie Davey, 33, was charged with feloniously
assaulting Fanny Hester Davey, and throwing her
out of a window with intent to murder her.
Mr. Hurst prosecuted, and Mr. Roupell was
counsel for the prisoner.
It appeared that the prisoner was a married
woman, and lived with her husband at Eastbourne,
and that, on the morning of the 22d April, a wit-
ness, who lived opposite, saw what she supposed
was a blanket come out of the prisoner's window,
and immediately afterwards she observed the pri-
soner and her husband struggling together, the
latter apparently endeavouring to prevent her from
throwing herself out of the window. What was
supposed to be the blanket was afterwards picked
up. and it was found to contain the prisoner's ehild,
which was fifteen months old. It was at first sup-
posed that the child was dead, but it tarned out
that it was only stunned, and in the course of a
week it had perfectly recovered.
The mother of the prisoner deposed to her having
been confined in a lunatic asylum during the
last summer; but she came out, and appeared to
be very well all the winter. She had, however,
been in an excited state during the week previous
to the occurrence taking place ; but on the morning
of the 22d April she appeared comfortable, and had
fed and dressed the child, and taken it upstairs to
the room from whence she had thrown it. It ap-
peared that she and her husband were engaged in
taking down the bed, and the latter had gone down
stairs with some portion of it, and just as he entered
the room upon his return, he saw the prisoner in
the act of throwing the child out of the window.
The prisoner had, it appeared, on several occasions
begged that she might not be left alone with her
children, lest she should do them some harm; and
there was no doubt that, at the time the act was
committed, the prisoner was in an unsound state of
_ in d.

The learned Judge told tile jury that as this was
the case he did not think the prisoner could be
legally convicted upon the present charge. The
indictment alleged that she had the intention, when
she threw the child of the window, to destroy its
life, but it was clear that she was insane at the
time, and consequently was incapable of forming
such an intention.
The jury consequently returned a very of Not
Guilty.
Elizabeth Steer, 56, was charged with the mur-
der of Jane Hill.

Mr. Roupell and Mr. Gales prosecuted; Mr.
Ribton was instructed to defend the prisoner.
In this case there appeared to be no doubt that
the prisoner was insane, not only at the time that
the act was committed, but at the present time also,
and a jury was consequently empanelled upon the
voire dire to try whether she was in a fit state of
mind to plead to the charge.
1 Mr. Linton, the Governor of Petworth Gaol, and
the medical officer were examined, and upon their
evidence the jury at once returned a verdict that
the prisoner was of unsound mind and incompetent
to plead, and she was remanded to her former place
of custody.
Elizabeth Sarah Hunnisett, widow, 31, w"
charged with the wilful murder of her infant child,
Thomas Edward Pennington Hunnisett.
Mr. E. T. Smith conducted the prosecution. The 1
prisoner was undefended.
The evidence against the prisoner in this case
was very short. It appeared that shet Union, with
had for some
time been an inmate of the Ticehuro
was two years
s
two children—the deceased boy,wh
old, and another boy, three months old; and on the
sth of May she left the union workhouse, taking
the two children with her,;
h forer of her children. She the purpose, as she
said, of looking for the fa
was seen by several
and at persons at different places with
the children,. the side of a pond, at a
length, on the 6th of May, she
was observed sitting by
place called Mark-cross, in the parish of Mayfield,
and a labouring
man who_ saw her at this time re•
marked that she appeared to be in a very low And
who
soon after this another labour-
desponding
n who went to the pond for some water, die-
ing roan, ' body of
covered the the deceased child floating in
the water, quite dead, with no clothes on, and
nothing but a piece of Linnet fastened roulld, its I

breast. The body was taken out and placed in tt
barn, and it was at once recognised es the child of
the prisoner. Information was given to the police,
and Mr. Waghorn, a superintendent of the con-
stabulary, went in pursuit of the prisoner and came
up with her a short distance from the pond where
the body of the child had been discovered. He
put some questions to her, and the body was shown
to her, and she declared it was not her child, and
upon being asked what had become of her child,
she said she had left it with a person to take care
of. She afterwards admitted that the child found
in the pond was hers, and when she was before the
magistrate she said that she had gone to the pond
for the purpose of washing the clothes of her
youngest child, and that while she was engaged in
doing so, the deceased rolled accidentally into the
water. She said she got a stake and tried to get
him out, but was unable to do so, and she then
went away. She also said that the reason she made
the false statement to the officer was, that she was
frightened, and thought she should get into trouble
if she told what had happened. The prisoner, who
wept bitterly, and appeared dreadfully distressed
when she was called upon for her defence, repeated
the story she told before the magistrate, and declared
the child was accidentally drowned.
Baron Martin summed up the case. He observed
that the principal evidence against her consisted of
the fact that she had made a false statement to the
officer, and he said that in this, as in every other
case, it was the duty of a prosecution to establish
the charge affirmatively. They had heard the ex-
planation given by the prisoner, and it was for them
to say whether the evidence satisfied them conclu-
sively that her statement that the child was accident-
ally drowned, under the circumstances he had men-
tioned, was not the truth.

The jury, after consulting a short time, retired to
deliberate. They returned in about 20 minutes, and
found the prisoner guilty, but recommended her to
mercy.

The prisoner, who appeared almost overcome
when the verdict was pronounced, and was nearly
in a fainting state, on being (tailed whether she had
anything to urge why sentence of death should not
be passed upon her, began to shriek most piteously,
and declared that she was innocent.
The learge Judge, addressing her, said that she
had
,been found guilty of the crime of murder, and
all he had to do was to pass the sentence of the law
upon her for that offence, and the law compelled
him to pass sentence of death. The jury, who were
the proper judges, had found her guilty, and they
had also recommended her to mercy, and he would
take care this recommendation would be immediately
forwarded to the proper quarter He then proceeded
to pass sentence of death in the usual form, and the
wretched prisoner, who had fainted, was carriedout
of the dock by one of the warders.

£OUNTRY MAR.li_l_,l)s.

~►~--_-.

YORK— SATURDAY.
There was a short show of wheat to-day, and last week's
prices were fully supported. Buyers purchased steadily.
Little or no barly on offer, and last week's currencies were
exceeded. Oats firm at extreme rates.
Wheat, red 56s to 60s i Oats.... 22s to 26s
White do .60s to 64s 1 Beans 40s to 44s
Barley .32s to 33s i Peas ....—s to —s
Malt, 64s to 66s per qr. ; rye, 345 per qr ; flour, 40s
to 42s per sack.

LE ICE STE R—SATuRDAY.
Ihe supply of wheat to-day at market was- meagre,
and the prices of last week were not exceeded. The trade
in oats was brisk, and, being scarce, prices were 6d higher.
—White wheat, 60s to 655; red, 55s to 60s per 36 st.;
old red, —s to —s per 36 stone. Barley was in limited de-
mand—grinding, 30s to 32e; malting, 36s to 40s per qr.;
oats, 26s to 40s per 24 stone. Beans were a quiet sale—
new, —s to —s ; old, 40s to 42s per 38 stone.

NORWICH—SATURDAY.
The supply of wheat to-day was fair, with a thin at-
tendance of farmers. Last week's quotations were not ex-
ceeded, with a slow trade. There was scarcely anything
passing in other articles.

White"wheat 59s to 62Q 1 Red wheat 56s to 688
Malting barley....4os to 41s 1 Chevalier barley 37s to 40s
New do.. —s to —s I Oats.. 25s to 30s
Flour, 39s Od to —s_Od per sack from the miller.

NORTHAMPTON—SATURDAY.
At to-day's corn market the supply of wheat was only on
a moderate scale, and the attendance was limited. The
tone of the trade, however, proved steady, and the prices of
last week were obtained. The weather has been very fine.
Best wheat, 55s to 58s; seconds, 54s to 575. Barley
scarce, and at nominal prices—malting sorts, 38s to 39s ;
grinding 30s to 35s per qr. Oats quoted at 24s to 32s
per 24 stone. Beans, 42s to —s; seconds, 37s to 40s.

NOTTINGHAM—SATURDAY.
At our market this morning the show of English wheat
was short, and foreign only a moderate supply. The de-
mand was middling, at about the rates of the previous
week. White wheat, from 58s to 645; red, 52s to 58s.
Barley—malting, 36s to 42s ; grinding, 29s to 325. Oats
old, at 308 to 35s ; new, 22s to 275. Beans were sold at 44s
to 50s per qr. Flour, 41s to 445.

FOREIGN MAIL PACKET LIST.

MAILS DUE.

Aunralia and Mauritius, via Southampton. ..Aug. 18.
via Marseilles .. Aug. 12.
43razil and Cape Verds, by British packet. Aug., 4.
Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena.. Aug. 1.
China, Penang, and Singapore, via Southampton. Aug. 2.
via Marseilles ...Aug. 12.
Falkland Islands Aug. 4.
Gibraltar, via Southampton Aug. 2.
India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton Aug. 2.
via Marseilles Aug. 12.
India (Bombay), via Southampton Aug. 14.
via Marseilles Aug, 8.
Lisbon Aug. 4.
Malta, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Aug. 2.
via Marseilles Aug. 8.
Newfoundland .. Aug. 6.
Oporto and Vigo
U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet Aug. 6.
by U.S. packet
b 30.
W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Ty eneriffe Canadian packet.
AJulyug 10.
Bahamas, via New York, Aug. 28.
Mexico
Aug. 28.
All
California,, f
a Wnd British est Indies,
Columbia including Chili, Peru, 1 Aug. 13.

THE BANKRUPTCY OF MR. G. V. BROOKE.-
The adjourned meeting for last examination and discharge
of this bankrupt was held in the Birmingham Court on
Monday. During the proceedings, Mr. Nelson, who ap-
peared for a creditor, examined the bankrupt et some
length.—Mr. Nelson : What became of your theatrical
dresses ? Months ago they were purchased by Mr. Young.
Do I understand you to say that you have no dresses of
your own ? I havevery few—but very few ; the greater por-
tion of my wardrobe was purchased by Mr. Young.—
Where ? Here, in England.—When did you sell
them ? The greater portion of them I sold when I ar-
rived in England in May.— Can you tell the court what you
obtained for them ? £l2O on one occasion, and £6O on a pre-
vious one.—Your petition was filed on the 24th of May.
Had you any portion of the money you received from Mr.
Young on that date ? No ; I believe I had not. What did
you consider as the value of the wardrobe still retained by
you ? Very trifling indeed.--Were they worth £lOO ? No.
—Where are you going now ? lam engaged in Liverpool
for the next month.—Upon what terms, may I ask ? I have
a share of the money received beyond £25 every night.—ln
further examination the bankrupt stated that he had been
playing at Bolton, and the nature of his engagement was to
share the house. He had made about £l7 last week. The
week previously he cleared nothing. Previously to being
engaged in Bolton he played in Manchester for a month. At
the expiration of that time he received aboui-, 120, but that
was clear of everything. It was a risk, in fact. —Mr. Nelson
then, in a delicate manner asked the bankrupt if he was a
married man ? He said he was, but he had no family,—
Mr. Nelson then asked if his wife was an actress, to which
Mr. Brooke replied that he was married at St. Philip's
Church, in Birmingham, 12 years ago. —His Honour
granted the discharge, and expressed a hope that in future
the bankrupt would be more successful than he has recently
been.