The Sun.
London, England, 1823-12-04 00:00:00

CORONERS' INQUESTS.

INF/iNTICIDE BY A MOTHER.
Tuesday night, at nine o'clock, en Inquisition
was taken before J. W. thrwrst, Esq., Coroner, at the Three
Compasses public-house, Brick-lane, Whitechapel, on view of
the body of Catherine Smart, an infant, murdered ,by, her wo-
then The wound was across the throat, immediately under the
chin, and the head was nearly severed from the body:.
The first witness examined was an elderly woman, who gave
her name Sarah Bushel, who deposed, she acted as nurse to the
prisoner on her accouchment of the deceased, and on that °eva-
sion remained with her a month. She considered that the
pttii-
sorter had not been in her perfect senses since the preceding
Thursday. The death of her child, which was twenty-two
months old, seemed to have effected her mind very mach. The
prisoner told her to go for a pint of porter, as she felt thirsty, ,
Witness went, and left her with the deceased in her lap, and her
mother was in the next room. She might be gone about ten
minutes, and when she came back she found her sitting in the
chair with the deceased child in herlap, and on her entering the
parlour the prisoner said, " Nurse, see what I've done—l've
murdered my baby."
Mrs. Elizabeth Moore aworn—Witnesswas 110 years of age,
and mother of the prisoner; she was either in the wash-house
or the yard, she cannot say which, when the prisoner nearlycut
off the head of deceased.
ConomEn—Do you think she was in her right senses when
she did this act ? IVitness—Oh Lord ! no, Sir, she was not.
Mr. Charles Meant' a surgeon, living in Brick-lane, Spite].
filth, deposed that the prisoner was insane at times, particu.
lady so since the death of her child.
ConowEn—Do you think she was insane finite the Tuesday
that the child died P—Witness. Ithink she has had lucid in,
tervals since;the Tuesday.
Cone srm--This is a pis so dee ite, that I think the
Jury should not enter into it. The beet mode for them to
pursue, would be to return such a verdict as would subject her
to be tried arthe Old Bailey.
The Inquest-roomwas now Cleared of all strangers; and
after the Jury had been in warm debate for nearly half an
hour, fourteen of them were Of ono opinion; and on uur re-ad.:
mission again to the Court, we were-informed by the Cortmer
that the verdict of the Jury wai.--" Wilful murder against
Catherine Smart, the mother ofthe deceased."
The Cononkit then issued his warrant for the committal of
Mrs. Smart to Newgate, on the.icharge of murdering her own
infant ; and the Witnesses were all bound over to give evidence
at the Old Bailey.

•
ANOTHER INFANTICIDE.
Sarah Reed, of Newington, has been fully committed for
trial on.-4 charge of having murdered her own infant child,—
Several witnesses proved the finding the dead body in a ditch,
Jahn Gilmore exarnined.--I live at Streatham, and am a
gardener. On the 11th of October the prisoner came to me;
and told me the child which she then had an her arms belonged
to me. I said, " Sarah, you are joking, that can never he."
'She replied, " ft is the case;" and she then asked me whit
terms I woidd come to, and said she would swear it to me :the
following Saturday. I 1 told her she did not look like a lying-
in-woman, and that the child she hatil thought must be a weer
old. She then went away. As she said she had lain in the day.
before she came to me, I thought it could not be her child.
Thomas Levett n constable, deposed as follows : I took ths
prisoner into custody on suspicion of having made away with
her child. 1 asked her several questions about the child ; iu
reply to which she said she had taken it home and kept It.
After some other enquries she said she had made away with,
the child the night she had left Gihnore's that she threw thO
clothes into the lane, and drowned the child in a ditch ;
she intended to have taken the child to-4 charwoman in (Janet.
green, to 'nurse, but her heart failed her, and that the reason
she drowned the child was because she had been disappointed
In the person who was the father, by his not taking care Of the
child ; that she did not know he was married, or was likely to
be married, before she was put to bed, and that she had in-
formed him of her situation in August: last, at the Witt:nature
public house in. Tooting, where she was a considerable time.,
Elizabeth Oaskin, aunt to the prisoner, proved the birth, of
the child.—Thc prisoner w:is luny cueunitted for trial. ,

ANOTHER INQI.EST.
Yesterday an Inquisition tdok plare at St. Bartholomew's
Hospital before TIIONIA# bi11ea.T91(,..1.15q.,_ and a respectable
Jury, to inquire into the cause of the death of William Dowall,
aged 40 years, who way fourid dead in the street. There wa9
no evitlialee Of murder IMVing beell committed, and op wards of
DM were found in the pocket of the deceased. The Inquest all-
journed to this day, in order to receive the eviclence of the person
who was last with the deceased.

SHOCKING CASE Or INTANTIotnE.—A woman
named Hogan %cos yesterday taken into custody`
on suspicion of having destroyed her infant child.,, of which she delivered herself in the course of
the day. The miserable being was found lying
on a small quantity of straw, in a room to which
there were neither door nor window. She was
fur the time taken to the woikliouse of St. Giles's,
and a Coroner's Jury will sit on the body thh
evening,

THE LONDON JOURNALS.

. a DAILY 'J
Extracts from the Morning Papers, Dec. 4.

• . [MORNING POST.I
The tempestuous weather which has prevailed
during the last twenty-I'o6r hours, has greatly
diminished.the number of foreign arrivals. Even
those from the neighbouring coast have been
snspended, and the ' only Papers. received yes-
terday :were from Balt-rune. They contain in-1
telligenee from Madrid, which gives a Melan-
dray Pictore of 'the state of things in that Cal&
ial; and generally through S'pain. Every night
persons *ere attacked and robbed in the.streets„,
and the French, retained to protect public
tranquillitY, were unable to do it effectuall,y, and
had no favour •shewe them. The consequence
was, -that they began to give vent to their own
feelings, and to spew lheies detestation of the
'principles on which thro Government and the Roy-
alists acted. The momentary exultation of
triumph having passed, they perceived the
horrors of the system which they had been em-
ployed tore-establish, and in some instances the
conviction was attended with effects characteristic
of French impetuosity. Duels - between them
and the Royalists were not unfrequent,and it is
said that Mr. Azlor; the individual who claimed
on the part of the Regency, and obtained from
the Duke of A neon leme the surrender of the
brave :44,v), was challenged for that act by a
Vretich Officer, and kille4 after a desperate com-
bat, in which he severely wounded his conque-
ror.: it is conlirtned, as we stated some days ago,
that the contributioo offered by the Clergy to the
King amounted to only 20,0001. in money. The
rest was in paper, which possessed little more
than .a. nominal value. This money, however, it
is Justly observed, was " but a drop in the
oCean ;' for no itevenue was collected,. and the
dishonest Otteilifit to ral,e a new Loan, after an-
these pre'vlously received, having failed
in every country, the Royal Treasury *as un-
able to defray the smallest ex ponces of the State.
tinder these difficulties; it was reperted that
the King intended to consult the foreign Ambas.
seders, and that a Diplomatic meeting would
take place in his presence at the Escurial, where
he and the Royal Family were expected to go
on the 3d inst. The'Decree for disbanding the
army is said to have been drawn up ; but it had
not yet been deemed prudent to publish it, as it
was not certain that the Government would have
the means pf carrying it hi to execution. indeed
the surrender of Barevlon3, I:cant,, Corthagena,
Badajoz, flrid other' fortineTh places in various
provinces;, :though en .advantage in one sense,
created fresh difficulties and alarm in another.
it set free so many large „garrisons, that it
brought in some measure. a-new Constitutional
army into the field, the corps of which, though
encamped at .a distance from each other, required
to be, watched lest they should unite and re-
shine hOstilie,;,. As long as the French remain-
ed in force, that dirty' was easily performed ;
yprjp r proportioo as they evacuated Spaio the
task devolved upon the Royalists, who *poi. iry
no means equal to it-s performance. Under those
Circtimst an yes it becalme incumbent on the Co.
vernment to -abstain from the least act which
could tend en.exasperP.te the' Constitutional troops
sad to bring on a crisis, until it had accumulated
sufficient strength to meet or to prevent that
CriSis. Hence arose the delay. in the publication
of the Decree for disbanding the rmy, and as
the same causes ornpprehensinti Mr likely. to con-
tinue for a considerable time, it is trot, iniprebable
that what must remain kmg.suspended, may end
by being a Itoael her omitted. The attempt to
rake r Ileyalist force :40i t. not appear to have
succeetkd.

p; w
An Express from Paris brought us last,night
the French Papers of Mondtty. The advises
they contain, however, are of no interest. Of
Spain little is now said : the attention of the
k rvitch politicians Is chiefly engrossed with the
question of Septennial Parliaments, which will,
in all probability, hit adopted immediately after
the assembling of the new Chamber of Deputies.
WE t know not why France should so closely
follow the English model as to fix precisely the
same number OT years for the duration of its Le-
gislatures : aQttinquennial or Sextennial Parlia-
ment might perhaps sufficiently answer their
purpose ; but that the Chamber should be
wholly and not partially renewed is most obvious
on every consideration of practical, policy. 1 t
is - said that the Charter is opposed to the
integral renewal: but a cursory perusal of the
Charter shows that it contains many articles
which are merely reglementaires, ng the French
expwus it. Several of these have been already
chato,oil by the Liberals themselves, and others
lo their very nature are temporary, and ought to
b aCCOMmoriatud to the existing circUmstences ;
and among these we must reckon the rules for
the duration of the Chamber of Deputies.

[mournNo outtoNref.t.l
The vessel which we yesterday stated had ar-
rived in the Channel. from Buenos Ayres; did not
`land her letter.bag in time for the Post,otlice
'/estertlay's delivery,, owing- to tho heavy rains ;
but we bave'seen it passenger .who came by her,
and is arrived in town. From him we learn, that
nothing further had oeeured between the Govern-
mot of,Buenos Ayres'and Captain Willes, of the
Bruzettolosubsequoilt coniewinics tions havingbeen
exchanged. The latter had lianileft the waters of
We :Myer Plate and gone down to.Montevldeo,b4v.
lug previously sent in the .Buenos Ayres vessel he
had detained. ThiN alftdr had, however, been
attended by-oneintpleasa:ltt, 'nay mom'ent,
alarmin4 eireutusi ante. As
easil ay. im
gined, tin,rc t.ists iii I3nenos Ayres, as w,ell as in
other 01'6 of South ,A.tnerica, a party opposed to
the Plitish rod it is very natural to suppose
tiny vmt.i.:(l not let slip tint opportuwity,, which
Lad akatif liven warinly taken up by the public
splrints, to ah, w their animosity. We'new under-
that through the instigation, of this party,
asvmarial
,N1:-4Vilrawn up, urging the Goveri;-
'4lent to "...!'te immediate —reprisals on the
British proptlrty to be found in the place,'

and this Memorial was handed round the
town for signature. It was, in fact, signed
by many ; but as they were, chiefly persons
of little weight in society, the application had
been dropped before it reached the Government,
by whom it would have certainly been treated
with due contempt. This, neverthless, slims
what very serious consequences may follow the
intemperate acts of any foreigner exercising
power within the jurisdiction of countries just
emerging from the calamities of a civil war, the
inhabitants of which are easily roused and
excited to• commotion, owing to the moral
power of the Government being yet weak ; and
where, besides, there' is a growing spirit
of competition in the pursuits of trade, and
party spirit is not altogether divested of hos-
tile recollections towards us, derived from
occurrences of an oYtl date. We have again to
refer to the language of the Centinella, from which
we inserted an article yesterday in proof of this.

[Tut Truts.]
Letters dated the 22d of October were re•
ceived yesterday fromilavannalt. The quarrel
between the town of Vera Cruz and the Spanish
garrison of St. jean de Ulloa has created a de-1
gree of exasperation which will place additional
obstacles in tin, way of any attempt by Old
Spain to recover Mexicti. The independent
Mexican 'Govermrient bas acted with extraor-
dinary vigour and spirit on the occasion. They
have determined that Vera. Cruz shall 'be aban-
cloned, and cease to he a port of trade, so long as
the Castle :Of St. Juan de Ulloa should be
held by the Spaniards. The Mexican mer-
chants had, in consequence removed' to Alva-
rado, which was, declared the port of entry
for Mexico, and a strict prohibition was issued
against the admission of Spanish vessels • into
any port of Mexico. All the Spanish merchants
resident in Vera Cruz had removed with their
families and property into the Castle of St. Juan
de Ulloa. 'The latest intelligence received at
Havannah from Vera Cruz was the 11th of Oc-
tober, nt which time the fire from the batteries
of the Castle still continued, and it was esti-
mated that one-third of the city had been laid
in ruins by it. Numbers of Spanish mer-
chantmen had arrived at Havenualt with car-
goes for Vera Cruz, but which, in consequence of
the prohibition of entry, were all compelled to be
disposed of in*Cuba,.to the great disadvantage of
the owners. A few ships were fitting out at
Havannalt to convey supplies.to 'the Castle of St.
:hum de (Noe, and this isolated spot being na-
turally impregnable, was likely still to be held
by the Spaniards, though with little advantage
to the
,posSessors after the destruction of Vera
Cruz, and the extinction-of its
.trade.' Some, of
the letters froth HaVannah: express belief that a
reconciliation ‘illS still likely to take place be-
tween the Spanish garrison 'and ' the MeXican
Government', hut do not state the grounds of
that expertation. Some Colombian privateers,
which lay under the island of Sticriliclos, out of
the reach of cannon-shot from the 'Castle, had
succeeded in. capturing three well-armed Spanish
schooners, constant traders between'Vera Cruz
and ilavannak---a valuable addition at that too-
meta. to the Colombian navy, already•equal to
that of the Spaniards. General Morales, at the
date of the letters, remained at fravannah, and
no hint is given of any new expedition to be un-
dertaken by him.

milTlsu TR LIM]
Tyranny, for the time, has raised amid the
surrounding bayonets of a foreign army, its dark
banner again triumphant over. Spain ;, but Ferdi-
nand is not now really the Monarch of, ,that
country,,or called to an absolute throne, by the
voice of the respectable portion of its people he
is
the King of the Monks,—the ruler of the MUM.
los—the regal head of the naked cot-throats of
the Faith: these, if the French troops quitted
Spain to-morrow, could not prop up his throne a
week ; his only reliance at the Escurial, where he
is now going, would be in his Swiss mercenaries;
but they would sink before the thronging array, of
theConstitutionaiists, and the tyrant would be al-
most instantly hurled from the throne he has
abused. It is clear, from every late account, that
Spain is now far from tranquil"; the constitutional
and other bands still roam , the provinces, only
waiting the opportunity again to unite and act:
Azlor, the Spanish officer who claimed the un-
fertunate Riego from the French, has been killed
in a duel by a French officer : this shewa the
private feelings of these iudividuals on the
subject of that foul murder. The fanatics from
the provinces, led on by. the monks, were calling
loudly for the Inquisition. The Ream/radar is
full of their vile addresses ; their cry is, " No.
thing but the Inquisition will save us from the
Liberals !" And though the other Powers affect
to oppose the re-establishment of this horrible
tribunal, and suggest, in its place, an inqui-
sitorial police, it is more than probable the
feelings of Ferdinand and the Me wili agree,
and the holy office be re-established in all
its former authority. This dreadful state of
things may endure, for a while, but it will not
be permanent in Spain : a great majority of the
people of that gauntry now think very differently
from what they did a century ago; three years
of liberty have ,produced a sensible effect upon
them. The march and long residence of foreign
troops of different nations through that isolat4
ed portion of Western Europe, though they
brought temporary desolation and ruin in.their
train, yet led to an astonishing change in the minds
and feelings of,the Spanish people.. The better or-
ders now all speak with contempt and indignation
of the superstition that debases tha.country ;
horde of monks, like devouring locusts, have re-
turned to prey ou its prosperity again : they are
rich while the country is in ruin,; they, are
TeSUMIng all the church property again. The
Catholic religion, maintained, as it Ought to
be, and pure, has nothing to. do NV ith all those
abpsei; they are a perversion of its original
institutes,,and an outrage, on its ordinances. The
career of the tyrant, however,, amid the_ circle
around him, goes on just as waSeipeeted. No
deCrees, so long announced, have yet bean issued
either from A ranjnez or Madrid ; no, amnesty
either has been proclaimed. New arrests of the

Constitutional Deputies, wherever they could 1
be traced, have taken place ; and if any acknow-
ledgment be made of the former loans, it will be
of necessity, and from that alone. Without the
recognition, the Despot or his Monk-Minister
will not be able to raise a single piastre through-
out all Europe.

[MORNING BRAM.]
It has been slated that an application will be
Made to the Judges on the part.of Thuitell,l
Hunt, and Probert, to pospone their trial on the
ground of the difficulty of procuring an unpre-
judiced Jury, in consequenCe of the Whined state
of the public mind on the subject of Mr. Weare's
murder in that county, from which the Jury is
to be selected. The applicatiOn may be urged
.on the ground of convenience to the Court
as the trial is likely to occupy so much time,
that the Judges will find ,it impossible to
get through the other business of the' Assizes.
It is said that these".reasons are likely to weigh
with the Court, and 'induce it, if not to postpone
the trial to next Assizes, at 'least to put the
Commission at 'Hertford the last on the list, and
thus give the prisonera more time. We, however,
have been told that on no groUnd is the applica-
tion likely-to.he'successfal. This we regret, for
it is palpable that the prisoners must now enter on
their trial at a disadvantage, as they will' have to
contend with a mass of prejudice, the total ab-
sence of which' forms the'very essence of the irn,
partial trial to which they are entitled. We do
inquire into not now mean to moire the cause of • this
prejudice whether it be just or not, or of the
means by which it has been excited, though we ere
far from vindicating the course' which the Press
has pursued on this occasion. Whatever might
have been the motive of its conduct, whether it
administered to a vicious public appetite, or only
conceived it Was discharging one of its duties
by aiding public. justice in laying before the
public facts as they occurred--it is clear that
the reinit has been unfavourable to the, ac•
cused. There would now he 'nothing extra
ordinary in the postponement of this trial to
he next-assizes. The prisoners would stand in
0 better situation than if they had been put on
air trial before the late Act of-Parliament, au-

thorising a third assize in the same year. In that
case, unless a Special Commission .were appoint-
ed, they would have remained over to the Spring
Assizes, and we hope that they will now be put
in the same situation as if this Act had never
been passed, and be thus given the benefit of si
Jury more free from prejudice than we think a
Jury can be at this moment.