The Sun.
London, England, 1848-12-07 00:00:00

THE STANFIELD - HALL
MURDERS.

WYMONDHAM, WEDNESDAY EVENING.—We are at
length enabled to give an authentic outline of the state-
ment made by Mrs. James, Rush's housekeeper, before
the coroner and jury yesterday. Her evidence is ex-
ceedingly important, and raises a strong suspicion against
the prisoner. The coroner refused to allow the repre-
sentatives of the press permission to peruse the deposi-
tions, nor would he state to them the purport of her ad-
missions, not because he himself thought that the puhli-
cation of her evidence would defeat the ends of justice,
but because the jury and himself having been admitted
by the magistrates into the Bridewell here upon suffer-
ance to examine the witness, he thought it right to defer
to their suggestion that his investigation should be con-
ducted in private. Now that the real nature of her tes-
timony is known, there does not appear to be the
slightest conceivable reason for withholding it; and the
magisterial injunction to secrecy, and the exclusion of
reporters from the examinations of the prisoner, can
only be regarded as a piece of magisterial whim end
caprice, happily becoming less and less frequent, even
in our most benighted rural counties.
Emily James is a rather pretty young woman of about
26 years of age, who lived with the prisoner Rush at
the Potash-farm, and who is now enciente by him. She
was called by the name of Mrs. James, but there is no
reason to suppose either that she has ever been married
or that James is her real name. She is said to have re-
ceived a superior education, and to have lived in the
prisoner's family as governess to his children, under the
name of Miss Sandford, until the illicit nature of the at-
tachment which existed between Rush and herself could
no longer be concealed. Mrs. James and the boy Sa-
vory were the only persons who slept on the Potash-
farm with the prisoner on the night of the murder. She
gave her evidence with great apparent frankness 3 ester-
day, and the impression produced upon the minds of the
jury was that she was keeping nothing back, and was
desirous to state the whole truth.
Her evidence is to this effect :—On the night of the
mgder Rush had agreed to take Mrs. James to a concert
at Norwich, given by Madame Duleken. It was arranged
that they should have tea earlier than usual, and at five
o'clock Rush came home and found her dressed for the
concert. Rush then said to her " I don't think I shall go
to Norwich now, for I don't feel very well. Do you
mind not going?" She immediately replied, that she
did not care about going. Rush said, "If you particu-
larly wish it, we will go." She repeated that she did not
care about it, and it was agreed that they should remain
at home. They sat down to tea about six, and lingered
over the meal until about eight o'clock. when Rush said,
" I want to go out for a short time."' She replied, " You
had better not, as you will increase your cold." He
took no notice, and proceeded to the back kitchen (pro-
bably for the purpose of being seen by the boy Savory),
and thence upstairs into his bedroom. After remaining
there for some few minutes he came down stairs, and
went out at the front door, without looking into the
room where the witness sat so as to give her an oppor-
tunity of seeing or speaking with him. The prisoner
could not make the' front door latch after him, and he
called to her to come and shut it. She went, but took no
light, nor, she says, did she open the door to see him
leave the house, so that she cannot speak to his dress or
appearance when he lett the house. Rush held the door
from the outside until she had secured it after him, and
he then went away. She returned to the sitting room
where they betel partaken of tea, and having removed the
tea things, she read until about nine o'clock, as nearly
as she can say, which would make him absent about an
hour. She then heard him tap on the door with his
knuckles, and went to let him in, but did not take a light.
She drew the bolt of the door, said " It's undone," and
then returned to her room. Rush waited a minute or
two at the door after he heard her draw the bolt, and she
had regained her room before he entered at the front
door. He went along the passage, and as he passed her
door he called out " You had better go to bed." He
then went upstairs without asking for a candle; but this
did not excite her surprise, as she knew he had wax
tapers in his bed-room by which he could procure a light.
Thus she had no opportunity, it she speaks truly, of
seeing him either when he left the house or when he
returned. The prisoner remained in his bed room a few
minutes, and then came down without his shoes, and so
softly that she did not hear him until ho opened the
door of the room in which she was sitting. He held the
door a little way open, with his hand upon the handle,
and looked into the room. She then observed that he
was in his shirt sleeves. He said, " What a large fire
you have got; put it out and go to bed." There was
s anething in his manner that caused her to look at him
more attentively, and she then observed that his face
was deadly pale (he is naturally a man of very florid
complexion), and that he appeared much agitated. She
said, "Is there anything the matter with you ?" Ho
turned from her and said, " No." After a short pause
he added, " If any one asks you about me, say I was
not out more than ten minutes."—(This is what the
girl stated the next day before the magistrates.) He
then went up stairs to his bed-room again, and
locked the door. She took some of the heated coals
from the fire, and having a can of water in the room,
she threw some of it upon the fire, and quenched it. She
then retired to her bedroom. In the course of a few
minutes she heard the door of Rush's room opened so as
to make as little noise as possible, and heard the prisoner
groping his way stealthily down stairs without his shoes.
In the space of about two or three minutes ;she heard
him return upstairs with the same precautions, and re
enter his bedroom. She then went to sleep, and did not
awake until the morning, when she was aroused by the
information that the police were in the house.
The CORONER having taken down her deposition,
called upon her to sign it. She replied that she had bet n
induced from certain motives to as- LIEU e the name of Mrs.
James, and asked the Coroner by F hat name the shoul.i
sign the deposition. The Coroner declined to advise her
upon this point, and she signed her name " Emily
James." She app,ars to be about five or six months ad-
vanced in pregnancy. and some difficulty may probably
be felt ire producing her as a witness at the next March
assizes.