The Sun.
London, England, 1862-05-02 00:00:00

711. E ARMY.

Major General Stransham, Inspector-General of
the Royal Marine Corps, has now finished his in-
spection of the Royal Marines. The last division
he inspected was the Portsmouth division of Light
Infantry at Gosport. Respecting their discipline
and efficiency, he expressed himself in the warmest
terms of approbation. Major-General Anderson,
lately promoted from the command of this division,
was present with the Inspector-General.
The reinforcements selected from the companies
of Royal Engineers at head luarters, Chatham, to
augment the 10th company, recently returned from
China, left Brompton barracks yesterday morning
for Aldershott, where the 10th company is stationed,
to be employed on the engineering duties of the
I camp.

CHARGE OF WIFE .MURDER AT

PLYMOUTH.

At the Plymouth Guildhall, on Wednesday,
Charles Joseph Pitcher was charged with killing

his wife, Thomazine Pitcher.
Eliza Marshall deposed that she lived at No. 9,
Higher-street, and on the previous day she was in
a room in a beer-house in Stonehouse-lane, between
3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon. She was there
with a woman named Conway, who owed her some
money, and other persons were there. Among those
present was the prisoner, who was sitting at the
table drinking with other men and some women. A
woman came from the taproom into the place where
the prisoner was, and struck him twice under the
ear with her hand. She called him very opprobri-
ous names, and as she struck him she said, " Where's
my money—where's my box P" or words to that
effect. They were both tipsy, and the woman re-
turned to the tap-room. Prisoner arose from the
table and followed her, and the tap-room door was
shut as soon as he entered it. Witness looked
through the glass door, and saw prisoner strike the
deceased under the right ear with his clenched fist.
It was a violent blow, and the deceased fell to the
floor. Witness then entered the room, where she
found the deceased lying on the floor. There were
two men in the room besides the prisoner, and wit-

ness asked one of them to lift the poor creature up.
The prisoner was then reclining on the settle. One
of the men lifted the woman up, and after three or
four minutes had elapsed she . went over to the
prisoner, who was still lying on the settle, and again
said, " Where is my box with my money ?"' Pri-
soner replied, " I have spent it; I have not a far-
thing left." Upon that the deceased struck the pri-
soner two or three times in the face with her fist.

The prisoner then got off the settle and struck de
ceased several dreadful blows with his fist about the
face and neck. He knocked her down, and her head
came in contact with the door-post. Prisoner then
walked away to another part of the room, and wit-
ness said to him, " Oh, you bad man, you've killed
the woman." He replied, "Do you think I'm going
to be struck by a woman ?" Witness turned the
woman's head, and saw her bleeding from a large
cut over the left eye. She cried and said, " What
has he done to me now ?" and exclamations of a
similar character, and by this time the prisoner had
again retired to lie upon the settle. Witness be-
lieved the woman's head struck the door-post. The
deceased was again lifted up and was placed upon a
form; as she leaned against the table her eye still
bled. One of the men, addressing the prisoner, said
he hope he had not offended him by lifting his wife,
and told him she had a tremendous cut across her
eye. Prisoner made no reply. Witness then fetched
a woman from the court named Mary Burt, and by
the time they entered the room the woman's bead
was under the settle, and prisoner standing close by
her. She was groaning, and prisoner was kicking
her violently in the lower part of the abdomen. She
saw him kick the deceased twice. Burt said to the
prisoner, "Oh you blackguard, you'll kill the wo-
man," and lifted her hand to strike him, but did not.
Prisoner desisted, but said, " I'm not going to be
struck by her." Witness and Burt lifted the de-
ceased from the floor to the form, and she leaned on
Burt's shoulder. On looking to the floor witness
saw a great quantity of blood. The deceased
groaned, but witness did not remember that she said
anything. The prisoner again lay on the settle, and
witness left the deceased in the care of Burt. She
was in the room altogether twenty minutes.
The prisoner, on being asked if he had anything
on which to cross-examine the witness, replied that
he recollected nothing about it.
Mary Burt said—l was in a court at the back of
the Travellers' Rest, in Stonehouse-lane, yesterday
about four o'clock, when Mrs. Marshall came to
me, and I went with her into the tap-room. The
prisoner and Thomas Richards, now present, and
the prisoner's wife (whom I have known many
years) were present, and so was Mrs, Marshall. The
prisoner's wife was lying on the floor, under the
table ; the prisoner was standing outside the table,
close to his wife, and was kicking her about the
body. She was lying on her back ; :they were
violent kicks. I said, " Holloa, Charley, w hat are
you doing ?" and put up my hand to shove him away.
He said nothing, but left the room. Mrs. Dingle,
the landlady, and a woman named Eliza Govear,
came into the room, and Govear lifted her up, and
cleared up a great deal of blood with a ahovel from
the spot where she had been lying. I did not see
the prisoner kick her more than once ; she groaned.
Myself and Eliza Govear carried her to her own
room, at 77, Stonehouse-lane. The only words I
heard the woman say were, " The Lord bless you,"
which was said to me. We put her on her bed, and
I sta) ed with her until she died, about an hour
afterwards. About five minutes after I carried the
prisoner's wife home, Mr. Pearse, surgeon, now pre-
sent, came and attended to her. I saw the prisoner's
wife about 11 in the morning; she was then tipsy.
I had been drinking with her, and when in the court
she fell and struck herself over her left eye. I was
not tipsy when Mrs. Marshall called me.
Cross-examined by the prisoner—Very shortly
after I took her home the prisoner came there, and
remained until she was drawing her last breath.
Cross-examined by Mr. Phillips—l have known
the prisoner and his wife for about nine years, and
they appeared to me to be comfortable, unless they
had had a drop of drink. They have three chil-
dren, the youngest being four or five years old.
William Pearse said—l am a surgeon, and have
been in practice for upwards of 20 years. On Tues-
day, the 29th ult., about 5 o'clock in the afternoon,
I was called to a room at No. 77, Stonehouse-lane,
, where I saw the prisoner, several women, and a
1 female (whom I have since ascertained to be
Thomazine Pitcher, and I believe to be the wife of
the prisoner). I found her in a dying state lying
on the bed, her clothes soaked in blood, pulseless,
power of sight quite gone, wholly insensible, skin
cold, and unable to speak. She moaned twice or
thrice, and turned on one side and then on the other,
and attempted to raise her head, but failed. I
examined her person, and found she had lost a great
quantity of blood, enough to destroy life. I used
all the means I could to preserve life, by applying
stimulants, &c., and remained with her about 30
minutes. I then left, and returned again about half
an hour afterwards, and then found her quite dead.
Prisoner was still in the room. lie was intoxicated.
I examined the deceased after her death, and found
the wound to be about an inch in length, in the ex-
tremities, and found clotted blood. I consider that
she died from the loss of blood flowing i.rom that
wound. It was done by some blunt instrument--a
kick from a hard boot or shoe would have caused it.
Whilst I was there the police came and took the
prisoner into custody.
Mr. Luscombe asked Mr. Pearse as to the neces-
sity of a post-mortem examination, to wliich he re-
plied that the examination he had already made
was sufficient to convince him of the cause of death.
Witness—l found a wound on the left temple,
and the parts bruised,
which might have occurred
from her coming in contact with a stone oe leg of
a table, but her death cannot be attributed in any
way to the wound, Sho had also marks on the
cheek as if she had been struck there. She was a
fine woman, and about 43 years of age, and appa-
rently in good health before this wound.
Police-constable IVI arming said—l was on duty in
Stonehouse-lane on Tuesday evening, and between
six and seven went to a room No. 77, where I found
Dr. Pearse, the prisoner, several women, and on the
a woman lying dead. Prisoner had been
drinking
very hard, but understood what I said to
erinklisnagw
him. From information I received I said to him,
You must go with me." He said, "What for ?"
and I told him for beating, kicking, end killing his
wife. He said, " I never touched my dear Tam-
my." I said he must go, and he replied, " Allow
me to kiss her first." He did so, and I then left
with him. While on our way we met police-con-
stable Julian, who accompanied us to the station-
house.
The bench then remanded the case until next
Tuesday. A warrant would be made out to the