The Sun.
London, England, 1851-08-28 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN ClRCUlT.—Liverpool, Aug. 27.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Baron PLATT.)
James Wick was indicted for having, at Manches-
ter, on the 21st of July last, wilfully murdered one
Margaret Weeding,
Mr. Joseph Pollock appeared for the prosecution,
Mr. Munk and Mr. Sowler defended the prisoner.
It appeared that the prisoner, who is a labouring
man, and who had borne a good character fur kied-
ness and humanity, went to Manchester on the even-
ing of the 20th of July, and, having met with the
deceased in the street, accompanied her to a house in
Back Irwell-street, where the deceased lodged with
another woman, named Farren. They had some
drink, and the prisoner said that he would give the
two women a shilling a piece. He then 14y down on
a bed in the room and tell asleep, and then the two
women went out to get some more drink at a public-
house and in about an hour or two returned. Early
in the morning, a policeman, who was on his beat,
heard a scuffle in the cellar where the prisoner and
the women were, and heard a man say " Give me my
money," and a woman answered " I will," and then
there was a scuffle and kicking. The policeman then
went down into the cellar and opened the door, after
having listened a short time to the scuffle and blows,
which continued. Ou entering he saw the prisoner
getting up from the woman Farren, whom it ap-
peared he had been kneeling on, and on the bed the
deceased was lying on her face. The prisoner said,
" They have taken four half-crowns from me." On
looking at the deceased more minutely he found that
she was dreadfully bruised and kicked, so that he
could hardly tell that she was a human being. The
prisoner then put his shoes on and said, "They have
taken my money betwixt them," and that he was
sorry for what he had done. The deceased was then
put upon a stretcher to be conveyed to the Infirmary,
but she died before she reached that place. On ex-
amining the body it was found that she had four ribs
on one side and five on the other broken, and that the
liver was lacerated and the lungs penetrated, which
injuries caused her death.
Mr. MONK addressed the jury for the prisoner.
His LORDSHIP having summed up,
The jury returned a verdict ot Guilty of man-
slaughter.
His LORDSEITP then sentenced him to be imprisoned
for three calendar months.
Elizabeth Swinnerton was charged with the wilful
murder or Esther Swinnerton.
Mr. Pollock and Mr. Assheton conducted the pro-
secution ; Mr. Monk and Mr. Sowler defended the
prisoner.
Patrick Nelson, a private in the 2d Regiment, said
he lodged in the prisoner's house at Salford, and knew
the deceased, who was stepdaughter of the priso-
ner. In the beginning ot May was at the house.
Deceased was a cripple. She was going to bed on the
landing of the stairs. The bed was not long enough
and the bedding was only a few old clothes. The next
day the deceased came to him, and be gave her some
tea and things several times. On a Sunday, the 15th
of June, deceased came into witness's room and he
gave her some tea. She said she was relaxed in her
bowels. The next Sunday she came again into his
room, and showed a mark on her body. Witness gave
her some tea. The next day, the 23d of June, saw
the deceased at the petty door on her bare feet. She
had a chamber utensil in her hand, and was clearing
it out. The prisoner took hold of deceased's hand and
rubbed the dirt in her mouth. The deceased ap-
peared to be very ill. Next day saw her in the par-
lour with the policeman by the fire. Had seen the
prisoner strike deceased several times. Deceased had
shown him a cut on her head.
Caroline Nelson—Lodged at Thomas Swinner-
ton's. Knew the deceased, who was about seventeen
years old. The prisoner made the deceased work
about the house and carry coals, and do other things,
and the prisoner used to beat her with a stick re-
peatedly, and once threw a poker at her. She never
went down to the cellar without beating her—some-
times with a saucepan, and different things. Oa the
Sunday before the deceased went to the workhouse
heard the child cry. Went down to her. She slept
in the cellar, which had a grating, through which the
air came, so that the deceased would be exposed to
the night-air. On the Monday the prisoner told the
deceased to come up from the cellar. The deceased
said she was so ill she could not, and the prisoner
said that she would beat her and kill her if she did
not come. She then came with great difficulty, and
asked the prisoner for a drop of water to clean the
utensil with, which the prisoner refused to give her.
Other witnesses were then called, whose evidence
went to the same effect as above. The result of the
ill-treatment was that the neighbours interfered, a
doctor was sent for, and the deceased was sent to
the workhouse, where she eventually died. The
medical man who attended her there stated that she
had died from consumption, but that he could not say
that the treatment of the prisoner had caused it.
At the close of the case for the prosecution,
Mr. Moeire submitted to his Lordship that there
was no duty imposed by law on the prisoner to pro-
vide food, raiment, and the like, for the deceased, on
which all the counts of the indictment proceeded.
The prisoner was merely the servant of her husband,
and there was no duty imposed on her when the
paterfamilias was at home, for there could not be a
divided duty.
His LORDSHIP said in his opinion the indictment
could not be sustained ; there was no duty imposed
upon the prisoner, being a married woman, as was
alleged in the indictment, for it was the husband's
duty to provide all that was necessary and proper for
the child, and to see that she received them. Fortu-
nately, in this case, the prisoner being acquitted on a
point of law would not frustrate the end of justice,
because, after the evidence of the medical man, who
stated that with all his experience be could not say
that the death was occasioned by the treatment
which had been detailed, the jury could not find a
verdict of guilty.
The jury then Acquitted the prisoner.
Mary Powell was indicted for the murder of her
child, Mary Ann Powell, by strangling her.
Mr. Blair conducted the prosecution; the prisoner
was not defended by counsel.

The prisoner, it appeared, had, in the early part of
this year, been removed to the workhouse in this
borough, together with her three children. She had
been ill. treated by her husband, and was in a state of
great terror from fear of his violence. tshe became
much excited at the workhouse, and was, finally,
under the direction of the medical man, removed to
the lunatic ward. She was in this excited and
violent state for about a week, and then being better
she, after a period of six weeks, was removed into the
nursery, in consequence of one of her children being
ill. She continued to nurse the child and to attend to
the other children up to the month of July. She had
frequently applied for permission to leave the house,
but had been dissuaded from carrying out this inten-
tion, as on a former occasion, when her husband came
to take her out, she became very touch excited.
Finally, however, on the 17th, she left, with her two
children, one having died in the workhouse, and
about three o'clock in the day came to her sister's
house. She left in about half an hour, and at eight
o'clock was seen in a street near Lancelot's quay,
with a female child in her arms. The body of the
child was bare, but its face was covered. She was
walking hastily, as if in alarm. A person whom
she passed told her to cover the child, on
which she laughed in so strange a way that the wit-
ness was induced to follow her. The prisoner, how-
ever, ran away in the direction of Lancelot's quay.
About the same time a woman was seen in Lancelot's-
quay, near some warehouse steps, and shortly after
there was found there the body of a child, with a
pinafore tied tightly round its neck, and which proved
to be the body of the deceased, Mary Ann Powell.
Death had been occasioned by strangulation. About
ten o'clock a woman was seen to throw herself off the
landing stage into the river, and was got out with
considerable difficulty. It proved to be the prisoner.
She was in a state of great distress of mind, re-
proached them with having saved her, and tore her
hair with frantic violence. She said she had mur-
dered her children ; one she had thrown into a privy
in liurlington-street, and she could not remember
what had been done with the other. She was taken
to the hospital, and in consequence of being, in the
opinion of the medical officer, in a state of insanity,
was taken back to the lunatic ward in the hospital.
The medical man who saw her there, and on whose
recommendation she was placed there originally, stated
that in his opinion she was of unsound mind on both
occasions.

Hie LORDSHIP having briefly summed up, the jury
returned a vcrdiet of Not Guilty on the ground of in-
sanity.

Se-ntence—To be kept in custody during her Ma-
esty's pleasure.

Thomas Th e‘fall wats charged with having At