The Sun.
London, England, 1812-08-13 00:00:00

STAFFORD ASSIZES.

T2IAL OF ANN SHELDON, von ADMINISTERING Pm-

SON TO HER lIIS.iIAisTD.

Ann Sheldon., a young i-oraan of a decent and
somewhat prepossessing apearance., was indicted,
under Lord Ellenborou:A.,; zltet, for administering
poison to tier, husband, with intent to occasion
his death..

• The first witness eNawined was Samuel Shel,
, don, the' prisoner's husband. •[Mr. CeiFFosn,
Counsel for the prisoner, submitted to the Court,
that a husband could not bekihnitted an evidence
„against his wife, unless from' the-necessity of the
ease ;' here there was 11() such necessity, ether
witnesses heing'sublmniaed to prove the fact--Mr.
• CeiFi•oiin cited Lord Andley's 'ease in sUppartof
hi' argument. Mr. PE.ARSON, Counsel for the
Crown, argued the necessity of receiving the evi-
dence, and strengthened hiS ark; anent byadtlitcing
the case of Thomas John. The Learned 1 Jlidge
agreed to the 'general propriety of the maxim,
that the evidence of the husband could not be
taken age,inst' the. 'wife, and vice versa ; but he
considered that where personal injury had been
sustained lky tkither party, as in' the present in-
stance; it formed an exception, to the .rule.—Mr.
PEARSON then Proceeded in the examination of
the witness.]
He depo,ed, that be lives at Alstonefiehl, in the
enmity of Stafford; on the borders of Derbyshire,.
On the Gth of April, he rettirird Vorn work about
-tight o'clock in the evening; the prisoner, whom
he had left at hoinein the morning, had been out
during his absence, but returned. soon after' he
dicl ; sbe said she had been to see her aunt Betty,
who lives at Dam Gate, who was poorly. The
witness was rather-indisposed at the time with a
cold; he smoked e pipe, and told the prisoner he
was going to bed ; she said she would g 6
also.--
As he went he found some stuff in two papers on
the stairs. He lint some in his mouth ; it had-no
taste, and looked like-white lead. He did not
know whether he spat it all out. He asked what
it was, and his wife told him she supposed it was
sonie,white lead which .had been left in the house
by the last tenant; witness had lived in the house
only about a fortnight. The prisoner asked for the
white lead, 'and said it, would be useful for their
child. Wheal be had been in bed about ten minutes,
the prisoner came to him, and asked whether ,he
would have some sugar and butter with her, as he
had a cold. Ho told her, he had no ()tension for
it ; §he'might eat it herself.; but she said, he must
bare some with her. He took two tea-spoons full',
but did not'see her take any. He soon after went
to sleep, and awoke in about-three hours violently
sick, with a'pain at his stomach, and continued so
until he rose about nine o'clock: He awoke his
wife in the night, and told her he WAS very sick;
she desired he would lie still, and the fit would a.,0
off, she supposed. In the morning sh'e made him
some tea, of which he took two 'cups ; which,
howevei‘, did not remain long upon his stomach.
About One o'clock she prepared some broth, of
which he took a basin full. At the bottom of
the basin he Observed something as white as t!our.
Prisoner took some broth in another basin, but.
he did not look into it, to olaserve whether there
was. any sediment in that. He was ,•lek after eat-
ing the broth, and continued ill till the next flight.
Continued very weak and poorly, but did nut
consult a medical man until the following Satur-
day.
Mr. CLIFFORD Cross-examined the witness with
great judgment and ability. Every question that
he put produced an answer favourable to 61! pri-
soner. ,Witness and prisoner had been 'married
about twO years find nine months ; they had one
child, and the prisoner was now in a " family
way.:'\ The prisoner's mother tad been in the
habit of practising in medicine, and the prisoner
herself was esteemed a good doctress 'she ,was
in the habit of curing scald-heads, a,nd white lead
was a principal ingredientin her recipe he had
DO reason to think she had 'any spite against him ;
they never quarrelled, but were always on good
terms ; she poured the broth out of the same
kettle for both of them, and he ,did not observe
that she put any thing in. his basin That was not
fat hers.

On a question from the Judge, it appeared that
the witness was sometimes absent from his wife,
on account of his work ; sometimes they lodged
with their revective parents, and then came toge-
ther again.
. . _

• Cross-examination continued by Mr. CLIFFORD.
The medical man to whom' witness first applied
told him he had an inflammation on his lungs„ and
gave him physic for that complaint.
Mr. John Witham, druggist; Of Ashborne, exa-
mined.—First saw • the prisoner on the Gth of
April, when she came to his shop to purchase
some arsenic ; witness refused to let her have k,
and informed her he never sold it to one person
alone ; the priSoner left the shop, and returned in
about five minutes with Elizabeth Uopestick, who
lives at Bradley, and 'had I.een in-the habit of
coming to his shop. He asked. Copestick whether
he could with propriety let the prisoner have the
arsenic, and she said she knew both her- and her
friends. He then let her have it, and did not see
her AgairA until she was in custody.
Cross-examined.—Believed arsenic iniglt be
used in the cure of scald-heads ; the prisoner
made no concealment. •

Elizabeth Copestick swore the prisoner told her
wanted the` arsenic for her Mother to cure
.some person of the itch.
Cross-examined.—Her mother was famous for
curing the iteh,. and so was the prisoner ; they
were women of good character.
Mr. Spencer Harrison, surgeon, of. Alstoncfield,
(who was not the medical man to whom the wit-
ness first applied), deposed, that'Samuel Sheldon
came to consult him on the 13th April ;
his geuerel • appearance struck him as being
strange ; he was bloated, ,his lips stivollen, and
his mouth much. inflamed; tongue white and
furred ; believed his illness proceeded from having
taken poison.
Cross-examined.—A white and furred tongue
generally accolptinies fever and inflainuiatiorr ; if
tie had met with poison, and had put it into his
nauth, and swallowed any, it might have produ-eed
inflammation. .