The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-05 00:00:00

CONFESSION OF MURDER.

An extraordinary confession was made op Thursday
morning by a young woman, an inmate of the Kingston
pour-house (Portsea Island Union), of two most cold-
blooded and predetermined acts of infanticide committed
about ten years ago. For some time past the woman,
whose name is Mary Anne Skinner, has been leading a
most wretched life from poverty and other causes; she
had latterly become an inmate of the above-meosioned
union, where, on Thursday, finding death approaching,
she raved and called for one of the guardians to come
her. She called for her sister also, apparently
then
,_well-
educated and respectable young woman, and
__irt
a statement, which one of the guardians (Mr. darks)
:_sf,
took down in writing from her lips, that
the
wag
seduced
t; lefial__
seduced by a gentleman, a member
profession, then and now residing at Gosorhis gnisthe first fruit of their intercourse she, with,about 12 months
cog-
nizance and persuasion, murdered;
I where the pains of
took her to Portsmouth to a
babel. back to Gosport,
afterwards she again became enceinte
ball,
thbaxt her seducer, who
he took
labour were brought on;
N‘whaserbeosrhnealwivaes; ctohnefinn a.nd a fine child
b th seducer,
was by his clerk©, and dis-
taken away in a pocket kerchief.n
(a
skeleton was found
posed of as the first had b
in
the very -.
confined the
isiarnseenntigfhotr,
snot mentioned by the
some years after
hertb at
wants,the m aanngda
to
oe
keep
pmts
eocnreeyt
741,,,,,insIliasetdtiorehnteasr.ii
etooconfession);obtainthe r circumstances
d in the confession, which bears the
nurseswho
P eanunde do
it
ht, e andrs around ei
atrocitythe tran
aothteior
respectable witnesses—the
wretched woman at the time bed of the . .
signature of tb
recapitulation of crime.
death-bed r egentleman
Major Tra'rers, one
of the justices of the peace of Portsmouth, we,s sent for
immediately by Mr. Marks to take down oAlicially the
statement of the woman, but when he arriv'ed the woman
was either so terrified or so exhauste d or perhaps both,
a
that she could not again recount '
m story. Death ter-
minated her sufferings on Friday afternoon. The con-
fession made remains in the h ane,a of the gentleman who
took it down, but is at the dis 1 magistracy.
The of the magistracy.
The board of guardians had a special meeting upon the
subject at their offices on Friday afternoon, the result
of which has not transpired. Tie person implicated in
these atrocities has hitherto been considered one of the
most repectable and honourable inhabitants of Gosport.
The confession of the woman is very clear in names,
dates, and circumstances; but from prudential motives,
and at the request of the authorities;, we, for the pre-
sent, suppress them, in order not to defeat the ends of
justice. It is important to the credence of the state-
, ment made by Skinner to add that medical testimony
pronounced her perfectly sane at the time of making the
disclosures.

PORTSMOUTH E LECTION.—The writ for the election
of a Member to serve in the place of Sir Francis Baring,
Bart. (appointed First Lord of the Admiralty), was re-
ceived at Portsmouth ou Friday afternoon. This day of
nomination is fixed for to-morrow, and the polling (if
any is demanded) for the following day. No opposition
being contemplated, the usual ceremonies will be per-
formed, minus the agitation and interest
which gene-
rally attend such proceedings. Sir Francis is expected
to be at the meeting of his friends and supporters at
Portsmouth this evening.
In the military circles it is stated thatkinee
George of Cambridge will succeed the late Sir T. Ar-
buthnot in the command of the Manchester district ;
and Killkennv temporary district being abolished, that
Major-General Macdonald will be removed to Athlone,
as successor to the late Sir Guy Campbell.