The Sun.
London, England, 1846-07-10 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

HOME CIRCUIT.,--Heryord, Thursday. July 9.
The Commission for the county of Herts was opened
this morning at eleven o'clock by Mr. Baron Parke, and
his Lordship and Mr. Justice Coltman afterwards at-
tended divine service. At one o'clock both Courts pro-
ceeded to business, Baron Parke presiding on the Civil
Side, and Mr. Justice Coltman in the Clown Court.
The cause-list is heavy for this county, there being 23
entered, seven or eight of which are special jury cases.
The criminal calendar is light, there being only 14 pri-
soners. None of the cases disposed of during the day
contained any feature of public interest.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
WANDSWORTH.

Mary .North, aged eighteen, servant to Mr. Barker, the
coach proprietor, was placed in the dock, before Mr. Paynter,
for final examination, upon a charge of having administered
a quantity of oil of vitriol to Mary Ann Barker, an infant
aged only four months, with intent to murder.
The case has excited an extraordinary interest in Wands-
worth, inasmuch as the accused bore a very good character,
and there was an apparwt absence of all motive for her
committal of the crime. A solicitor, who described himself
as a friend of the accused's family, attended to watch the
case on her behalf.
Mrs. Barker, the wife of Mr. C. Barker, having been sworn,
stated that the prisoner;was her servant of all-work, and that
it was part of her duty to take care of the infant child, which
was four months old on the sth inst. On Wednesday the
Ist inst., between eleven and twelve o'clock, she sent the
prisoner for some ingredients to make harness blacking, one
of them being oil of vitriol. Immediately after dinner wit-
ness commenced mixing the ingredients in a large pan in the
washhouse, and the last thing she put in was oil of vitriol.
The bottle contained four ounces, and she used about half.
The prisoner handed her the bottle and remarked, " What
dangerous stuff it was, and that Leech (meaning the oilman)
would not let her have it without telling_him who it was
for." Witness said of course not, it was a deadly poison,
and he could not tell what she wanted it for; he could
not know whether she was going to take it herself, or
administer it to any one else. The prisoner could read
print and writing, and the bottle was labelled " Vitriol,
poison." After witness had used the vitriol she gave
the bottle to the prisoner, and told her to put it on the high
shelf, where the children could not get to it. Witness after-
wards turned away and left the washhouse; therefore she
could not say whether she did as she was told or not.
Nothing particular occurred till the evening, when she was
sitting alone in the parlour a little before seven o'clock, when
the prisoner came in with the child in her arms, and a tea-
cup. She said she thought that baby had the stomach-ache,
and a little aniseed would ease it. Witness then unlocked
the secretaire and took out a bottle of aniseed ; she put about
a teaspoonful into the cup, and a lump of sugar, and then
put back the bottle and locked the secretaire. Witness then
went into the kitchen with the cup, and poured some hot
water in it. She afterwards gave the infant some of the
mixture, and left the cup containing the remainder on the
table. Witness told the prisoner to walk up and down with
the child, and returned to the parlour, leaving her eldest
daughter (between 10 and 11 years of age) and the other
children in the kitchen. There were no white marks about
it after it had taken the aniseed ; it had been vaccinated a
week previously, and was very restless. Not more than five
minutes could have elapsed when witness heard her daughter
say, " Mary, don't hurt baby ;” and immediately afterwards
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tongue foaming and swollen, and she exclaimed, 0, my
God I what is the matter with baby? this can never be the
aniseed." Witness did not remember whether the prisoner
said anything, for she was almost mad. She told her to run
for the doctor, and:Mr. Howell came in in a few minutes.
She showed him the infant, and asked him what was the
matter with it; and Mr. Howell asked her if she had any
vitriol in the house. In consequence of what Mr. Howell
said, she afterwards went to look for the vitriol, and found
it on a lower shelf in the washhouse, where she let it re-
main until the next morning, when Mr. Tatham, the part-
ner of Mr. Howell, asked for it. She then locked it up, and
subsequently delivered it to Inspector Busain, as likewise
the napkin produced. The aniseed was taken away by Mr.
Howell, and Mr. Tatham brought it back the next morning.
The child did not vomit until medicine had been given, and
what it vomited witness preserved. The cotton gown produced
she had on that day ; it is marked in various places with brown
spots, and there are also stains from vomiting. The pri-
soner would have been two years in her service next Mi-
chaelmas; she intended to part with her then, but she had
not told her ao. he did not consider the prisoner was fond