The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-11 00:00:00

HAT7'ON-GARDEN.

Tim o
fort resi
fromding theat New
Prison No. 10,
P eter_nstrt y m
Peter-street,
Gei
e.
ki/xe/a, nawisenhialo;
examination,
broughteeiri,
ged with having
attempted to murder Ellen IPGill, his wife, under
the following aggravated circumstances :
elattendede
con-
t
o
that
cidTe conductrlaiei)ept aihileitseptri reosostffi: ccaues tr isiotno,lfvaanCsd
getr(lineee nrcawal
lseyel
reported
the prosecutrix, who has been dangerously ill, had
died through the prisoner's ill treatment.
At twelve o'clock she was brought to the office
in a weakly condition, and was allowed a seat before
the nigistrates. Her appearance was dreadful, her
face being covered with marks of violence so as to
render her features undistinguishable, and her lan-
guor compelled her to lean in a slovenly position on
her chair. Being sworn, with considerable difficulty
she stated as follows :—I am the prisoner's wife. I
reside at No. 10, Peter-street, Saffron-hill. On
the 19th of September my child, which was about
four years of age, lay dead, when the prisoner gave
me 19s. Gd. to purchase some articles necessary for
the funeral. I left home in company of a friend, and
during my absence I laid out '7s. Gd. On my return
home I found the prisoner, whom I thought had
been drinking, when he asked me for the money.
I gave him the whole of what was left, when he
said there ought to be Gd. more. I endeavoured
to convince him that it was right, and requested
him to take a chair in order to cast up to him what
had spenti but he would not give me time to do

so, but abused me. He stood up and gave me a
violent blow upon the right temple with his clenched
fist, which nearly made me senseless. He then
seized me by the hair of my head, and dragged me
to a corner of the room, into which he forced me,
and, seizing hold of me tightly by the throat with
one hand, he held me against the wall while he
beat me over the face, head, and body with the
other, and I was unable to make any alarm. He
then laid hold of my hair, and threw me down on
the hearth-stone, when he kicked me on the body
violently, and dragged me about the room by the
hair of my head, using the most horrid language.
At length he left his grasp of me, thinking I was
dead, and he again kicked me ; and, while I lay
upon my back, he more than once asked me, " Are
you dead now ?"—(Here a feeling of indignation
and horror pervaded the breast of every person in
the Court, and exclamations of " Oh, horrible ! the
monster ! wretch !" were used.)
Mr. LAING (to the witness)—How long did he
continue to ill-use you in this way ?
Witness—l believe for about a quarter of an hour.
Mr. LAING—Be particular as to his precise words
when he asked you whether you were dead ?
Witness—They were, " Are you dead yet ?"
Being satisfied that he intended to murder me, I
pretended not to hear him, and I made him no an-
swer; on which he took hold of my hand, and lift-
ing it to his mouth he bit through one of my fingers,
and finding that I was not dead, he lifted me up by
the hair of my head, and ordered me to go and fetch
him a light. This was between six and seven
o'clock in the evening. My eyes were swollen, but
through one of them I saw the candlestick, and I
took it and crawled out of the house as well as I
was able, when the prisoner told me to wipe the
blood from my face. I left the place, and I did not
proceed far when I fell down in a state of insensibi-
lity on Saffron-hill, and was placed on the steps of a
door, where I was found by a policeman and carried
to the station-house.

Mr. LAING—You say, when the riffian acted in
this way, your child was lying dead in the same
apartment ? Witness—Yes, your Worship; and
while he was beating and kicking me he said that I
should never follow my child to the grave.
Mr. LAING—Did he ever threaten your life be-
fore? Witness—He did ; and often swore that he
would never die until he did for me.

-Mr. LAING never heard of a more outrageous or
aggravated case ; it was almost equal to murder, and
the parish authorities were bound to take it up and
prosecute the prisoner. All that he regretted was,
that the law would 'not allow him to inflict more
severe summary punishment than to fine him or

imprison him. -
The parish officers pledged themselves to attend
to the case, and prosecute to the extent of the law.
The witness continued—The prisoner had fre-
quently beaten his children, and they were afraid
of their lives when they were at home with the pri-
soner. He beat her daughter Mary Ann, who is
nine years old, and broke her collar-bone.
-Mary Anne MsGill, aged nine years, deposed—
On Wednesday evening, the 19th of September,
my mother received 19s. 6(1. from my father to buy
articles for the burial of my sister. There was a
quarrel between my father and mother. He told
her that she had spent sixpence more than was
necessary. My mother said that she would account
for the money, when my father struck her with his
fist on the temple, and dragged her by the hair of
the head, and beat and kicked her and threatened to
kill her. I was frightened and ran out for a police-
man, but could not get one, and I was afraid to re-
turn again.
Daniel Humphries, 74 G, found the injured wo-
man lying at the steps of a door bleeding and co-
vered with bruises. She appeared much injured,
and said that she had no home, and he then took
her to the station-house. \Then he found her
she was surrounded by a mob of persons.
Inspector Busain stated, that the prisoner's daugh-
ter voluntarily told him that he had broken her
collar-bone.

The little girl stated that to be the fact, and she
was laid up fora considerable time with it.
John Robinson, 57 G, was at the station-house
on the evening when the prisoner's wife was brought
to the station-house. She was thought to be in-
toxicated, until he found her mouth clogged with
blood, and unable to speak. She was asked who
had 111-used her, and she replied as well as she was
able, "My husband." Inspector Busain stated,
that in the course of the evening the prisoner and
another man came to bail the prosecutrix out, when
he was detained. On being told she was in a state
of insensibility and in danger, and asked whether he
would pay 7s. 6d. for a doctor to see her, he replied,
that " he would not pay that sum to save her life."
Witness ultimately procured the attendance of their
own doctor, who pronounced the woman to be in
danger. He took the prisoner to see her, and he
said that he beat her for getting drunk.
Mr. LAING asked the prosecutrix whether she
suspected that he had been instrumental in the death
of her child. Prosecutrix—l do not, your Worship.
Mr. LAING—WeII, you ruffi4n, what have you to
say in extenuation of your murderous conduct ?
Prisoner—l gave her 19s. 6d., and she got drunk
with part of the money.
Prosecutrix—On my oath, I only had one glass of
gin all day, your Worship.
Mr. LAING—DO you know an individual named
Cronan ? Prisoner—Yes ; he served his time in
the same shop with me.
Mr. LAING—Do you know where he served part
of his time about twelve months ago ? Prisoner—
For stabbing a policeman named Fuller.
Mr. LAING again impressed upon the minds of the
parish officers the necessity of prosecuting the case.
He then ordered that the prisoner should find excel-
lent bail, of which he was to give 24 hours' notice ;
and he was then committed to prison to take his
trial at the sessions.
The prosecutrix was then carried out of the office,
and ultimately taken to the workhouse with her chil-
dren. She seemed to be on the very verge of the
grave, and the half cured bruises on her countenance
gave her a frightful appearance. She was a fine-
looking woman, thirty-three years of age, and the
prisoner between forty and fifty, of pale and deter-
mined visage. It is impossible to describe the feel-
ings which were exhibited towards the prisoner.
While the witnesses were giving their evidence a
sudden burst of horror was expressed, especially at
that part where it was stated that he bit his wife's
finger to ascertain if she was dead.