The Sun.
London, England, 1841-03-18 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT. IDSTONE, MARCH 17.
(Before Lord DE MAN)
THE MAIDSTONE BANK ROBBERY....—The trial of the
individual charged with robbing the Bonk of Messrs.
Mercer and Co., of Maidstone, of 500 soyeiPigns, took
picx3 yesterday afternoon, and did not conclude until past
nine o'clock.

The Court was crowded during the whole time by the
inhabitants of Maidstone and the neighbourhood, where
the robbery Las created a very great sensation.
The prisoner, William Stevenson, was charged with
stealing a bag and 500 sovereigns, the •property of his
master, John Mercer and others. The bill against the
prisoner was found at the Borongh Sessions, and it was
arranged that the business of the Nisi Prius Court should
stand over for a short time, in order tint Lord Denman
might dispose of it.
Mr. Plstt, Mr. Clarkson, and Sir W. Riddell, con-
ducted the prosecution ; and Mr. Sergeant Shea, with
Mr. C. Jones, defended the prisoner.
Upwards of twenty witnesses were examined. The
following is a narrative of the facts of the case as they
apperred in evidence :—lt seemed that in the month of
October, 1839, Mr. Mercer wrote to his London agents,
Messrs. Masterman,tho bankers, to remit to him fifteen hun-
dred pounds in gold, and five hundred pounds in silver,
and that sum was accordingly placed in seven bogs, one
containing a thousand pounds in gold, another five hun.
dred in gold, and five bags of silver, each containing one
hundred pounds, and the whole were placed in a box of
which Messrs. Masterman and Mercer bad each a dupli-
cate key, and the box was then placed in the care of
Wallis, one of the Maidstone coachmen, to be conveyed
to that place. The box was duly conveyed to Maidstone,
and the prisoner, who acted as porter at Mr. Mercer's
bank, was sent to fetch it, and he brought the box to the
bank about seven o'clock in the evening, and it was taken
from him by Mr. Mercer, jun., who unlocked it, and took
out the bags of coin, and, without counting them, placed
them in the strong chest, but he observed that at this time
there were only sit begs, viz., one largo one, which he
supposed contained the fifteen hundred pounds in gold,
and the five bags of silver. The next morning, upon
tl.e money being examine!, it was found to be five
bundled pounds short of the proper quantity of gold,
and on a communication being made to Messrs. Mas-
terman, the lots of the second bag of gold
was discovered. No clue whatever, at this time,
could be obtained as to the perpetrator of the rob.
bery, but no suspicion was entertained of the prisoner, and
he was retained in the prosecutor's service, until the fol-
lowing month of January, when for some act of miscon-
duct he sas dismissed. Shortly after this the prisoner set
up in business in the town as a grocer, and some other
circumstances coming to the knowledge of the prosecu-
tors induced a suspicion that he was the thief, and a
search warrant was obtained and placed in the hands of
Fannett, the Superintendent of the Maidstone police, who
proc ceded to the prisoner's house, and upon searching it
he found a number of watches and time-pieces. When
the prisoner was told by the officer what he was charged
with, he denied all know!elge of the robbery, and told
him he might search where he pleased. The officer then
asked what money they had in the house, and about seven
pounds in gold and silver was produced by the prisoner's
wife. He then asked whether they bad not got any more
money, and the prisoner's wife went up to the bed-room with
him and she produced from between the bed and the
mattras or bag, containing 451. 10s. in sovereigns and
half sovereigns. He also found an I. 0. U. for 101.,
signed by a person named Newton, who proved that the
prisoner lent him two sovereigns upon it, and that he was
paying him interest. It was also proved, this', before the
robbery, the prisoner had only been in the receipt of a
pound a-week, and that he was in very poor circum
stances ; and it appeared, that after he was discharged be
had purchased two houses in Maidstone, for which be paid
3501, and the payment was made wholly in sovereigns
and half sovereigns. It also appeared that the prisoner
had taken the grocer's shop, and had paid a considerable
sum for good will and stock in trade, without having any
means to do se, except as was suggested by that of having
committed the robbery. A variety of other circumstances
were adcuced, which appeared to bring the charge clearly
home to the prisoner.
Mr. Sergeant Suite then addressed the Jury on behalf
of the prisoner.
Some witnesses were called for the purpo.o of showing
that at the various elections in the borough sums of money
had been given to the prisoner, and it was cheated that in
this " immaculate" borough, a vote was always worth
sora.,thing ; and one witness went so tit- as to say that be
conidered his 'MI was worth 151.
The Jury, after a short deliberation, returned a verdict
of Guilty.
His LORDSIIIP ordered the prisoner to be transported
for fourteen

ears.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT—BRDFoRD, Mum 16.
The Grand Jury last evening returned true bills against
the pugilists " Deaf Burke," Owen Swift, and other!,
for riot and asiault, and obstructing a constable in the ex-
ecution of his duty. Among the persons who aro not
members of the prize-ring included in the indictment, are
Lord Chetwynd, bearing the title of Viscount Rathdown,
in the kingdom of Ireland ; Mr. Maley, a solicitor of con-
siderable property ; Mme. Brown, the landlord cf tho wel'-
known inn called the Swan, at Newport Pagnell, and se-

veral others of station and connections.
To-day the Court was moved by Mr. Gunning fur
" Deaf Burke," and Mr. Bytes for some others of the de-
fendants, to respite the rceognizances until pest assize', in
order that all the defendants, the patrons of the " ring"
as well as the pugilists, might take their trial together.
Mr. Biggs Andrews and Mr. Sydney Ta 3 lor, rn the
pat t of the prosecution, consented to the motion ai a rea-
sonable one,
Toe riclgnizances were respited accordingly. This
case excites great interest in the county.
James Brain was indictel for the wilful murder et his
son, a boy of 13 year 3 of age, by poison, on the 221 of

lust February.
It appeared in evidence that the prisoner, who was a
gentlemah's servant out of ;dice, lodged at the Windmill
public-lt~use, ii Bedford, kept by a Mr. 1-I,r'e, and bad
his son boarding aid lodging at the house of a Mrs. Kempe,
in another part of the town. He came frequently to see
his son and to take him out to walk, and sometimes to
have a drive in a gig. He appeared always to be fond of
him, and to do the best he could to provide for him in dress
and comforts, according to his circumstances. On the
w ek before that en which the fatal occurrence took pl.ce,
he had several time> bad him out to walk or ride with him,
and had brought him back see. Oe the 15th Feb. he told
the daugYer of Mrs. Kempe to have the boy ready
to go with him on a journey early in the morning, and
about half-past ten o'el .ck he called and took him away.
Ho was not seen at Mrs. Kempe's until tho 221, exactly
ore week from the t tire, and then returned without his
son. When he came back in the morning, Mrs. Kemp°
asked him where his son was, and he said she should see
him in the evening. In the evenirg she asked him again.
He made no answer until she had repea'ed the question a
great many times, and then he at length said tint the boy
was dead, and that his body was in a barn on the Lontlian
road, and that be had poisoned him. Ihe post mortem ex-
amination showed great inflammation of the villous coat of
the stomach, with dark patches tinctured with blood. There
was also a.. ititrosusception of the bowels, such as is sometimes
produced by violent vomiting. The contents of the stomach
were tested with the ammonieal sulphate of copper, the ni-
trate of silver and sulphuretted hydrogen, giving the same
coloured prccipi ate:Ns as are usually supposed to be
indicative of the presence of arsenic. One surgeon only
tried Marsh's test, which was also the test which M.
Orfila applied in the case of Madame Laffsrge. A very
small portion of arsenic in the metallic state was procured
by this means, many times less than a grain. Mr. Harris
and Mr. Bailey, the former surgeon of the gaol and the
county infirmary, who proved the post mortem appearances
and the results of the various tests, admitted that t'a latter
were all liable to error, and that even as to the substance
supposed to be metallic arsenic, being in a very minuto
quantity, was likely to be mistaken fur antimony or phos-
phorus, the latter of which exists naturally in the blood and
bones. It was admitted also, that there is some arsenic
naturally existing in the human body. But with regard to
the fact stated by the prisoner, of arsenic having been ad-
ministered by him to big son, there was one strong fact
in corroboration of his confession, for he told the
constable that be had purchased an ounce of arsenic at the
shop of Mr. Corny, a chemist, part of which he had put
in the coffee which he had administered to the boy. Mr.
Corny pro'. e-1, that on the very morning, about eight
o'clock, the prisoner came to his shop, and asked for " an
ounce of arsenic to kill rats ;" he gave it him with the
word " Poison" marked upon it. The prisoner told the
policeman that, after he had given his son a portion of the
arsenic, and taken another portion himself, he had thrown
the remainder into the river. The prisoner, when told of
the consequences to himself OP his crane, said he did not
care so long as he had seen the last of his son, and stated
that they had been three days in the barn without suste-
nance, and that he bad taken the boy some water from a
pond in the fi.rld.
Other evidence was adduced, clearly connecting the
prisoner with having administered arsenic to his son, and
the Counsel for the prisoner"having admitted the cause of
death, the Jury, under ;ho direction of his Lordship, ac-
quitted the prisoner on the ground of insanity.
He was ordered to be taken care of until her Majesty's
'',ould be known.