The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-06 00:00:00

EXTRAO_RDENTA.BY CIIARdE 0-F ARSON

At the Lewes assizes yesterday,befer- Mr. Baron
Bramwell, Harriet Goble, a girl 17 ears of age,
was charged with feloniously and maliciously set-
ting fire to a dwelling-house, the pr perty of Chas.
Milligan, he and other persons being therein at the
time. In other counts of the indictment the intent
of the prisoner was laid to be to injure the prosecu-
tor, and also to defraud.
Mr. Roupell and Mr. Willoughby conducted the
prosecution. AIL Ribton and Mr. Rosher were for
the prisoner.
The learned counsel for the prosecution, in open-
ing the case to the jury, described it as one of a very
extraordinary character, no less than four fires
having taken place in the house of the prosecutor
on the same day, and by the last of them the pre-
mises were entirely consumed, and property to the
value of between £3,000 and £4,000 was destroyed.
He then proceeded to state the facts he proposed to
lay before them, and the following evidence was
adduced.
Miss Mathilde Milligan, a fashionably-dressed
young lady, of very prepossessing appearance, said
—I am the daughter of the prosecutor, and in July
last we occupied a house upon Crawley Downs,
which he had built for himself, and which was en-
tirely detached. The family consisted of my father
and mother, the latter of whom is very infirm, an
old servant who has been 38 years in the service,
and the prisoner at the bar, who was cook and
housemaid. She came into our service in February ;
but she was not regularly engaged, and it was un-
derstood that she was only to stop until we were
suited with a servant. I had been to London for a
short time previous to the 10th of July, and returned
home on that day. While the prisoner was in the
establishment I frequently complained of her, and
there were repeated disagreements between us, and
she was aware that she was to go the moment I
could get another servant that was likely to suit.
A servant did come upon trial, but she did not suit,
and she was sent away, and the prisoner was told
that she might remain with us a few days longer.
On the morning of the 19th of July there was no
fire in any part of the house except the kitchen,
and the prisoner appeared to be engaged about
her household affairs as usual. About 1 o'clock I
observed that the house was full of smoke, and at
first we thought it came from the kitchen chimney.
The family dined about half-past two o'clock, and
after dinner the smoke seemed to increase, and a
search was made, and it was discovered that a port-
folio in one of the upper rooms was on fire, and a
coat and dress were smouldering. This fire was
extinguished, and nothing more occurred until six
o'clock, when the prisoner gave another alarm of
fire, and upon going upstairs I found that some
books that were in a bookcase were burning. There
was no fire of any kind in this room, and I do not
know of any means by which the books could have
become ignited. This fire was extinguished, and
the house was examined, and no trace of fire was
discovered. About half-past seven o'clock on the
same evening there was a third alarm of fire, and
this time the fire took place in a totally different
room. This fire was put out, and I then heard the
prisoner call out, " A man, a man, running up the
attic stairs." I and some other persons went up to
the attic, but no man could be discovered. The
third fire was put out about eight o'clock, and the
house was then again examined all over and found
to be free from fire, and things remained in this
state until half-past nine o'clock at night, when
there was another alarm of fire, this being the
fourth. This time the fire was found to have got so
much hold that it was impossible to put it out, and
the house and the greater part of its contents were
destroyed, the value of the property lost being be-
tween three and four thousand pounds. Among the
property that was in the house at the time the last
fire broke out there was in my bedroom a small
box which contained a silver tea service, and my
watch was also in the same room, and these were
found to be missing. I had a conversation with the
prisoner, on the Monday after the fire, respecting
them, and she told me she went into my room when
the last fire broke out and she saw the watch was
gone, but the box containing the plate was safe,
and she took it up and went downstairs with it, and
met a man on the staircase who knocked her down
and took the b©x of plate from her, and she laid
upon the ground insensible, with the flames burning
all round her. I did not observe any mark of a blow
upon the prisoner's face where she said she had been
struck, neither did I observe that any of her clothes
were burned.
Cross-examined—The prisoner was only employed
as a sort of " stop-gap," while we were able to get
another servant. I may have made use of an expres-
sion to the effect " that I was sick of the place"
where we were living, but that I saw no chance of
getting away unless the house should catch fire. I
think what I said was in answer to an observation
that was made, that it was a wonder my father did
not sell the house, as it was known I did not like it,
and I remarked that my father would never leave it
unless he were burned out. I think I heard the man
servant make use of the expression that I had soon
had my wish. I first suspected the prisoner when
she told me such a strange story about the plate.
Mr. Ribton—Now, Miss Milligan, I am sorry to
put this question to you, hut I am bound to do so.
Were there not some very unpleasant rumours about
yourself in reference to this fire ?
Miss Milligan—l believe there were.
Mr. Ribton—Rumours that you yourself had set
the house on fire ?
Miss Milligan—l believe so,
Mr. Ribton—lt was known, was it not, that you
disliked the place, and wished your father to leave ?
Miss Milligan—Yes.
Baron Bramwell—Was the property insured ?

Miss Milligan—Not at all.
Baron Bramwell—And you say the property de-
stroyed was of the value of £3,000 or £4,000 ?
Miss Milligan—l believe £4,000, my lord.
Baron Bramwell—Then your reversionary interest
in it would probably have been worth nearly two
thousand pounds ?

Miss Milligan—lt would, my lord.
Barod Bramwell—Were you and your father on
good terms ?

Miss Milligan—Yes, my lord, very good terms.
Mr. Roupell, to the witness—On your oath, is
there the slightest truth or foundation in the sug-
gestion that you had anything to do with setting
fire to the house ?

Miss Milligan--None whatever. During the
period that elapsed between the third and the
fourth fires I was in a room with several other

persons.

In answer to a question put by the learned judge,
the witness said that thb plate she referred to was

in-a very small box, and it could easily have been
carried away. No trace of it was found in the
ruins of the fire.
ells rit C. Milligan said—l am the prosecutor in
\
house.
isue, and the father of the last witness. The
I did
notlinestion was my own freehold property.
completely acreacreit because 1 considered as it was
no risk of
it
tr ed and in the country there was
ovZ.fire. After the third alarm of
fire I went all
surerr: house and examined it care-
fully, and I am
Mr. 'Alley, a farbit.walsi quite safe.
hood, and a gentleman, ~ .ving in the neighbour-
visit to him, were examined '
tOoss, who was on a
house, and
sent for to the proaee:tallses:44:::
theyved that
also
they were
saw
aitt the
that after the third fire was extintiatti°,r',Be
monland they
examinedwere
a b outth e
to h o ul : :la,
en
justd
the alarm of the fourth conflagratelltx When
out given. It appeared that the fire broke aa
among the ,
the top of the house, e.ft„,t
where, it seems, there had been a large „ail::
1 tity of waste paper kept. These witueses also
proved that Miss Milligan was in their company the
whole time that elapsed between the third and fourth
fires, and that it was therefore impossible that she
could have caused tho mischief. The;,c witnesses,
as well as the prosecutor, were asked, as a matter of
form, with a view to show that the act must have
been committed by the prisoner, whether either of
them had set fire to the hous®
the negative. , and they replied in
Robert Howes, the man servant, was examined
and the same question was put to him, and he also
replied in the negative.

Mr. Kennard, a superintendent of the Susses