The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-03 00:00:00

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.

James Stirland, 25, pleaded " Guilty " to a charge
of forging an acceptance to a bill of exchange.
He was sentenced to be kept to hard labour
for two years.

Charles Corby, 20, was indicted for feloniously
cutting and wounding Mary Noble, with intent to
murder her.
In other counts the intent was laid to be to do
grievous bodily harm.
Mr. W. Cooper prosecuted, and Mr. Payne de-
fended the prisoner.

The prosecutrix, a good-looking young woman, de-
posed that she was unmarried. She had known the
prisoner for three years, and in August last they went
to live together as man and wife, and continued to do
so until the Ist of November. On the 31st of October
they had a quarrel, but she could not say what it
was about, although she knew it was some foolish
thing or other. They had had similar quarrels upon
other occasions, and she had frequently told him that
she would leave him, and she did so on this occasion.
The prisoner pressed her to make it up with him,
but her temper would not let her, and she re-
fused ; and in the evening she left the pri-
soner's lodging, and went to a place where she
had formerly lived, in Ironmonger-row, St. Luke's,
and stayed there all night. The next morning she
went to her work at capmaking, at the house of Mr.
Lee, in Prospect-place, St. Luke's, who was the pri-
soner's brother-in-law ; and about ten o'clock in the
morning the prisoner came and inquired for her, and
she went down to see him. The prisoner then asked
her where she had passed the night, and she at first
refused to tell him, but, on his saying that if she
told him the truth he would forgive her, she said she
had been to her old landlady's. He then asked her
how she could go there, when he had so repeatedly
cautioned her not to do so; and said he supposed she
frequently went there unknown to him, and that she
went to see some one unknown to him. Witness re-
plied that she had better be there than with him,
quarrelling, and although she knew he liked her, and
she liked him, she would rather part from him than
be continually quarrelling as they had
been. She then went up into the work-room,
and the prisoner followed her, and in a
good-humoured manner pressed her to come
home to dinner, but she refused and s iid she did not
know whether she should ever go to his house again.
, 'When she said this the prisoner looked at her as
though his "heart would burst," and said, "I hope
you and I will be in heaven before long," and he then
went away. In about an hour and a half he again
came into the room. He appeared very pale and
agitated, and the tears were running down hi:
cheeks. He placed himself opposite to her and looked
fixedly at her, and she was so alarmed at his appear-
ance that she exclaimed " Charley, what is the matter
with you; what have you been doing ?" and leaned
towards him and kissed him. She thought he was
going to return her kiss, when at the same instant he
drew a razor from his pocket and cut her throat. She
shrieked out acd pushed the prisoner away from her,
and said he would be hung for what he had done.
He replied, " I could not help it, Mary. Ido sin-
cerely love you ; I don't sham it, and if I cannot
marry you, no one else shall."
The prosecutrix, in answer to a question put by
Baron ALDERSON, said that the prisoner was a watch-
maker, and was apprenticed to his father, and was
not yet out of his time. She herself was 22 years'
old.

The prisoner's brother-in-law, and one or two other
witnesses, corroborated the statement of the prosecu-
trix with regard to the circumstances under which
the act was committed. One of them stated that at
first the prisoner appeared to be rubbing the prosecu-
trix's hair, when he suddenly drew her head back and
cut her throat with the razor, which he took from his
left-hand pocket.
Mr. Joseph Asbury, the surgeon who was called in
upon the occasion, described the wound as being se-
veral inches long; the external jugular vein was
divided, and the injury was altogether of a most
dangerous character.
A police-constable deposed, that when he took the
prisoner into custody he asked him if Mary Noble was
dead, and on his telling him he believed not, the
prisoner said, "I know I shall be hung for this. Oh,
policeman, you don't know what love is !" He also
said that when the prisoner made this observation he
tore his hair and appeared in a state of great agitation
and distress.

Mr. PAYNE, in his address to the jury for the
prisoner, endeavoured only to shield him from a
conviction for the capital offence, and urged upon the
jury that he had committed the act in a moment of
frenzy while under the excitement of love and
jealousy.
Baron ALDERSON, in summing up, said that how-
ever distressing it might be to the feelings of the jury
to find the prisoner guilty of a capital offence under
such circumstances, yet they had only one duty to
perform, according to their consciences and the oath
they had taken, which was to say what was the truth
of the matter according to the evidence. The Learned
Judge then recapitulated the facts of the case, and
conclwied by asking the jury whether it was possible
to come to any other conclusion than that the prisoner
really intended to destroy the life of the prosecutrix.
The jury, after deliberating a few minutes, returned
a verdict of Guilty of wounding with intent to mur-
der, but at the same time strongly recommended the
prisoner to the merciful consideration of the Court,
on account of his youth.

The prosecutrix also got into the witness•box, and,
at the same time bursting into tears, earnestly im-
plored the Court to have mercy on the prisoner. The
latter, upon hearing the nature of her application,
began to cry bitterly, and leaned his head upon the
front of the dock, and seemed deeply affected.
Baron ALDERSON, in ordering judgment of death
to be recorded against the prisoner, said it was a most
dreadful case. It was evident the prisoner had com-
mitted the desperate act of which he had been con-
victed under the influence of love and jealousy, and
this was one of the consequences that frequently re-
sulted from connexions of this description. At present
judgment of death must be recorded. He would do
what he could for him, but the prisoner must expect
to receive a very severe punishment, and it would be
for the Crown to say to what extent.

Henry Snell, 59,-mariner, was indicted for feloni-
ously sending a letter to Henry William Snell, threa-
tening to murder him, and also to murder Jane Snell,
his wife.

Mr. Ryland and Mr. E. Platt conducted the pro-
secution.

Henry William Snell deposed that he was in the
service of Messrs. Allen and Son, in St. Paul's Church-
yard. The prisoner was his father, and on the 24th of
October he received a letter which he knew to be in
his handwriting.
The letter was produced and read. It was ad-
dressed, " Mr. Henry Snell, Messrs. Allan's, St.
Paul's Churchyard," and on the envelope was written,
" Forward this to your infernal mother immediately."
The letter commenced, " You infernal ---, I again
condescend to address you, and if you do not imme-
diately send me lit of my money within two days
from this date death shall lbe yours and Henry's por-
tion. I will have one, at all events, if not both. I
am fully prepared, and will walk straight into Allan's
shop, and shoot him like a dog. I care nothing for
myself;
I can die but once, no matter how. Cheer-
fully will Igo to the gallows, and with much plea-
sure will I die, to your eternal disgrace. I have
spent my last shilling for pistols, and may I be
if I don't use them for the purpose they are intended."
The letter proceeded at considerable length in a strain
of foul abuse, the threat of destroying both the pri-
soner's son and mother being repeated in it. He
concluded thus—" I am, your determined and blood-
thirsty husband, H. Snell."
_ _

The prisoner, who had no counsel, declined to ask
his son any questions on cross examination.
Upon being called upon for his defence, the pri-
soner said he was in great distress, and had suffered
many privations, and in a moment of excitement he
wrote the letter in question ; but he denied entertain-
ing any serious intention of injuring either his wife
or his son.

The jury found the prisoner Guilty.
Mr. RYLAND said that the prisoner had been
brought to his present position by intemperate habits,
and the only desire of the family was to be protected
from his violence.

Mr. Justice CRESSWELL sentenced the prisoner to
be confined in Newgate for three months, and at the
expiration of that period ordered him to enter into his
own recognizance in 1001., with two sureties in 50/.,
to keep the peace for two years.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MANSION-HOUSE.
On Saturday Mary Ann Rowland, who appeared to
be above the ordinary class of paupers, and carried
an infant in her arms, was brought before Sir J.
Key under very remarkable circumstances. Mr.
Thwaites, the relieving officer of the City of London
Union, and the clerk of the parish of Christ Church,
NTewgate•street, attended upon the occasion.
Mary Ann Rowland had been on the preceding day
charged before the Lord Mayor with having ha-
rassed Mr. Thwaites, the city of London relieving
officer, for relief, without possessing any claim as a
casual pauper. She had, it appeared, frequently re-
ceived assistance from the union, both in and out of
the house, for some years, but in consequence cf the
violence of her conduct within the walls, the authori-
ties had come to the determination never again to
admit her. In addition to the parochial vexation
which she had for a considerable time occasioned, she
became the mother of an illegitimate child, but even
that fault would have been overlooked in the merciful
consideration of the guardians if she had shown the
least feeling of gratitude or disposition to industry.
She proved to be singuluarly deficient in both ; but
her case, notwithstanding her gross misconduct, at-
tracted the sympathies of those before whom she