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

THOMAS V. SHIRLEY.

This was another action brought by the same
plaintiff against the defendant, to recover upon a
contraet 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
into.

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 murder, 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-
nes, 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 child,
which was fifteen months old. It was at first sup-
posed that the child was dead, but it turned 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

The learned Judge told Vt.- e 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, 50, was charged with the mur-
der of Jane fill.

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.
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, was
charged with the wilful murder of her. infant child)
Thomas Edward Pennington Hunnisett.
Mr. E. T. Smith conducted the prosecution. The
prisoner was undefended.
The evidence against the prisoner
n this case
had for some
was very short. It appeared that she
time been an inmate of the Ticehuro was two years
s
t Union, with
'
two children—the deceased boy,wh
old; and on the
old, and another boy, three months
sth of May she left the uti_iworkhouse, taking
the two children with her,
said, of looking for the fatherfoornthe purpose, as she
of her children. She
on the 6 hof May, she
was t
the children, and at length, .
was seen by several persons at different places with
of a pond, at a
by the
in the parish of Mayfield,
_the side
was observed sitting
place called
and a labouring man who_ saw her at this time re •
marked that she appeared to be in a very low and
state. Very soon after this another labour-
desponding Mark-eros
n who went to the pond for some water, dis-
coveredingnut—,
the body of the deceased child floating in.
the water, quite dead, with no clothes on, and
nothing but a, piece of flannel fastened round its

breast. The body was taken out and placed in a
barn, and it was at once rk .cognised as the child of
the prisoner. Information was given to the police,
and Mr. Waghorn, a super intendent of the con-
stabulary, went in pursuit at " the prisoner and came
up with her a short distance from the pond where
the body of the child had b.'en discovered. He
put some questions to her, an.d tile 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 tiw.t she had gone to the pond
for the purpose of w: fishing 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 It 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 shoe Id get into trouble
if she told what had happened. T,he prisoner, who
wept bitterly, and appeared dreat'fully distressed
when she was called upon for her deieence, 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 aaked 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 carriedovt
of the dock by one of the warders.

coGp.UNIRY MARK L A 5.

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IrOiria— SATU RDAY.
There was a short shoo 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 wero
exceeded. Oats firm at ext`reme rates.
Wheat, red 56s to 60s i Oats.... 22s to 26s
White do .60s to 648 Beans .. 408 to 44s
I Barley .32s to 33s i'eas ....—s to —s
Malt, 64s to 66s per qr. ; rye, as per qr ; flour, 40s
to 42s per sack.