The Sun.
London, England, 1815-01-14 00:00:00

OLD Bli 1 LEY.

CHARGES OF MURDER.
- '''Vesterday,Yoserph Akerman was indicted for the
wilful murder of John Southcombe, on the 22d of
Oct. last, 'by driving over him a• certain mail
coach, drawn by four horses. •
The prisoner was the coachman of the Bath
mail coach on the day in question, and left the
Pot,odice at about ten .minuter after eight
0"4:lock. On their arrival at the 'two mile and, a
half stone, the guard heard a violent crash, and
on looking forward, he saw a cart overturned,
nod' a man lying on the road. He called to the
(loachimin to stop, 'and the Mail was pulled tip at
the Hand and Flower public-house, about eighty
yardsfrom - the spot where the accident happened,
from whence assistance ..was'' sent to the man.
—The Exeter and Worcester, mails were imme-
diately before the Bath mail, and they were all
going at their usual rate of eight miles an hour ;
their lamps being-lighted. - Upon
.subsequent in-
quiry, it turned out that the deceased and his bro-
ther were driving' towards London, and that, as
tie brother stated, they were di lying on their
proper side when the mail coach came in contact
with them, Which, overturned them, and the hind
wheel of the snail went over the body of the tie-
ceased. The coach, at tie ente of the accident,
was on the wrong tide of the road. The deceas-
ed died in consequence of the injury: which he
sustained.

• Upon the part of the prisoner, Walter Mansell,
Esq. and the Rev. Henry Breton, were called ;
'and from their testimony. it • appeared, that the
'Lath mail wits driven at a very steady pace ; that
'there was plenty of room for the cart of the de-
ceased to pass ; and that the accident wasakca-
.sioued by u sudden swerve of .the cart towards the
as if the,wrong rein had been pulled. They
described the conduct, of the prisoner to have been
attentive and proper, and in no ways negligenk or
careless. It was so dark that they could not tell
whether the coachman was driving on the right
side of the road or not'. The guard, after 'the
•cident had happened, called' to the coachman to
" drive on, and never mind." A Gentleman,
named Warren,. who was walking on the foot-
pat.h,. said the coach was certainly on the proper
side, and that there was room for two carts to
have passed beyond It.. Jr was further, Raved,
that the deceased and his brother were tipsy, and
were incapable of driving. They bad . been seen
by one of the Ratumersrnith poachthen, .a short
time before the accident, driving on the wrong
side of the road.

Mr. Baron .WOO/9 summed up the evidence,
with a remark, that, in his opinion, the Offence
Imputed to the prisoner did not amount to mur-
der, although,, if the Jury tvere of opinion that
the conduct of the prisoner had been negligent or
careless, or that he had been driving on the wrong
side of the road, at the time the accident happen-
ed, they might find him guilty of manslaughter.--
' 11is .Lerirtiship particularly'adverted to the conduct
Of the Guard, who had so inhumanly called out to
the coachman to drive on after the accident had
happened, and reprobated such conduct in for-
cible terms. ,

The Jury withdrew, and after an absence of a
touter of an hour, returned with a verdict of—
Nut 'Guilty.

About five minutes after the Jury retired, the
officer, appointed to attend them came back, and.
informed the Court,' that " the Jury would Hot
go into the room beeause there was ou fire."---
(.4 burgh )

The Court desired the Officer to:lnform the
Jury it was not in their power to relieve them.
Robert Penton was indicted for the •murder of
hiS wife) •by striking her with a chair. It Jilt-
peared, from the evidence, that on the night the
blow was given, the prisoner and his wife had
company; and quarrelled very much, especially the
deceased, who threw a knife at her husband, ainl
swore she would break every thing in the room.
After • the company departed, they had further
words, and lie threw a chair at her, which broke
three of her ribs; and her arm. She was sent to
the London Hospiial, and there languished till the
Sunday following, when she died. The whole of
the evidence aganist the prisoner.was•the declara-
tion of his wife after she thoughtshe should die,
which was that be .had thrown a.' chair her,
which had caused .the injury under which suf-
feredshe
.; but this 'declaration wits accompanied by
an neknowledgment that they were both intoxi-
uted at the time, and that her husband was not
to lame, for she had provoked him to do What
he did.

Mr. Baron ,WooD informed the Jury, that under
all the circumstances it was impossible to find the
spun guilty ot3murder, with which he was charg,
eel , the. whale was the effect of intoxication,
mixed with lialousy aneno evidence but the
declaration of the deceased, which,, with the
,ac-
knowledgment accanipanying iL, clearly sheaved
the prisoner had no actual mnlice in his mind.
There WAS enough) however, to s'onviet the pri•
totter of manslaughtce.
The Jury, without ['eluting, returned a verdict
of Mak4staughter.
Catherbie Towaer yea t.nex! put, to the ,bar, to
take her trial on an indictment charging her with
the wilful murder ot.ter
o
prisonur is only
`l9 y'pai:s of: ige, and of ~nteresting
countenance. She tsppeared at- the drelised in
deep mourning; and seemed much affeeted with
bur ;iv, lii situation.

Patrick Prendergasif deposed, that he (lid belong
La Ow ;I'ol ; on the .ith
,of December
14.,t lived in Flai-row,
St. G..sorge's.; between: tb...a nreA,i, • d foar< h 8)
o'clock
on that day, in: had occasion to go to 7 the dkrjry
of the house; there was another ••
pi ivy.adom,.....
LI; to the next dwelling-house
.adjoining- that in
tie, teas--it wars sep4it'alell by Ta.sreall parti-
tion, lie heard the door of the other Place Open,
sonle.perott mine in ; he their heard a great
a, of a person ill distress ; this .conti-
nued ft-air r five qihtuteii-. did not know whv the
erson was. next heard the crie's' of a child,
Lyo
or three time repei;teds, and innnediately after-
wards he3rdsotatthing drop into the eesspool,whielt
he sii,m)„(i-te.) be, the child, and theti 4 faint cry,
its nose, as if struggling-4ov
breath, lie went :nut instantly, and approached a
riling which separated the two yards, Lie 'waked

Over, and heard a noise.' He then went into his
landlord, Mr. Rhode, to whom he communicated
what had happened, and having learnt to whom
the privy belonged, he went to the house along
with Rhode. lie saw there a good ninny women
about a mar.gle ; asked who was the woman who
had just been delivered ot. a child in the privy
Ile was answered by a woman, Who pointed to
the prisoner, and said, " That is the woman."
Witness asked the prisoner hovi she crone to put
the child in the privy ? She denied putting it in
privy, but said it was in the privy. The privy
was searched,, and the child was found.

James 'Farrel, who heard of what had occurred,
jumped over the- fence, which separated the yard
in which the prisoner was from him, and caught
her in the privy. • He asked her what made her
throw the child into that place, and she denied
that she. bad done so. 1-le. conducted her to her
mother's in the house. She was then. put to bed.
IVitness saw the child found.

George Nicholls, a nightman, found the child
in the privy ; it was a female child, and dead.

John Oliver, a, surgeon, was then catty' ; and,
after a minute examination, which was of a na-
ture it is needless to detail, the result of his evi-
dence was, that the prisoner might have heel,
delivered without previous warning, and when in
the situation, which it was 'presumed she was in,
at the time her moans_were heard.
An officer produced some articles which had
been provided for the child by the prisoner.
SeVeralWittleoses were called; who proved that
there had been no attempt at a concealment of
the prisoneeti pregnancy; and in other respects
the innocence of the poor girl teas must clearly
proved.

The Jury, without waiting to hear the case.
summed up, pronounced her Not Guilty,. to -the
satisfaction of a vary crowded Court;
The following were capitally convicted
John Reeves, II years of age, and James' Rolle, 13, for a
burglary in the dwelling-house of Benjamin Hughes, and
sterling two shawls, his property.
• Richard Jaws and Witham Jones, for • privately stealing
in the shop of Edward Taylor, two gold seals, his property.
J antes Donahoe, for a Jan-glary in the dwelling-house of
Frauds Gibbons, and stealing a piece of biairlet cloth, value
Ss. his property.