The Sun.
London, England, 1851-10-03 00:00:00

MARYLEBONE.

The Government van brought up with other pri-
soners from the House of Detention, Clerken well, the
woman, Ann Davis, who on Tuesday last was brought
up to this court upon the horrible charge of having
burnt her daughter Ellen Davis, eight years and a
half old, with a red hot poker, and thereby inflicting
upon her very serious injury.
Mr. Fell, the chief clerk, read over the depositions
which had been taken by him at considerable length,
and while doing so the prisoner seemed to feel most
acutely the serious situation in which she was placed,
and shedding tears, buried her face in her hands.

Mr. LONG— now examined another witness.

Whipp, 86 D, was sworn, and said—l am an
officer attached to this court. On Tuesday last I ap-
prehended the prisoner by virtue of a warrant which
was granted by your worship, and, on my reading it
to her, she admitted to me that she bad burnt her
child with the poker.
Mr. LONG—Before she made this admission that
you have named had you made any promise or threat
whatever ? Witness—None, Sir.
Mr. Fell—Did you examine the child ? Whipp—
I did, Sir. The wound was shown to me, and it was
evidently caused by a burn.
Mr. LONG inquired if there was any other witness,
and, on his being replied to in the negative, ho ad-
dressed the accused, saying—Prisoner at the bar, you
have heard the evidence; do you wish to say anything
in answer to the charge ? You are not bound to do
so, but whatever you do say will be taken down in
writing, and may be used in evidence against
you upon your trial. Do you now wish to
say anything ?" Prisoner (still in tears)—No-
thing, Sir.

The worthy magistrate (Mr. LONG), evidently
under feelings of the deepest emotion, addressed the
prisoner in the following words, which were listened to
attentively by all in the Court :—For the offence
with which you have been brought before me it is my
duty to send you for trial at the sessions. I have the
power of dealing with you summarily; but, in a case
so flagrant as this, I cannot feel myself justified in
doing so. It is painful to me to see a person of your
respectable appearance charged with cruelty to your
child, whom, as a mother, you were bound to cherish
and protect, and it is really quite shocking that you
should have treated her in the manner which has been
deposed to. When you were first charged here you
said that what you did was in the heat of passion,
and that admission on your part showed that you
were sensible of your having done wrong ; and I am
willing charitably to hope that your conduct towards
your child did not arise from a malignant and gene-
rally cruel disposition. lam now going to send you
for trial, and what your sentence may be at the
sessions it is not for me to anticipate ; but I cannot
help imagining that it will be a severe one. I hope
that in the solitary and gloomy walls of a prison, in
which you will be placed prior to your trial, that you
will, while in solitude, reflect properly upon the
offence of which you have admitted yourself to be
guilty, and that the spiritual advice and consolation
which you will receive from the chaplain at the prison
will have the effect of making you fully sensible of
the enormity of the offence for which I now send you
to trial.

The prisoner, while being conveyed from the court
to the van, in which she was removed to Clerkenwell
House of Detention, was hissed and hoopted by a
great crowd who had assembled to witness her de-
parture.