The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-18 00:00:00

20'11
100

ASSIZE .INTELLIGBNC.E

OXFORD CIRCUIT. STAFFORD, Dec.. 17.
TRIAL 3 FOR WILFUL 31URDICR.
Samuel Twigg, brici-layer, 33, was a rraig ned for
the wilful murder of Mk try Twigg, his wife, on the
25th of July, 1860, at Bitston.
Mr. M‘Nlahon and Mr. A. S. Hill were for the
prosecution, and Mr. Mottetant defended the plt
soner.
Samuel Twigg, the younger, aged 16, deposal
that at about one o'clock in the.' morning of the
25th of July he heard his father knocking at the
front door, and shouting, " Now, Folly, get 1.11)
and loose me in." lie heard his moth er go down'
s'-airs, and then he heard also the voice .of a strange
matt in the kitchen, and his mother rue,ning back'
Afterw-ards he heard his father call to 11. s mothe,r,
to come,lown, but she refused, until " the
man was ;one." The prisoner then said, " str°ll
y
don't come down and cook we some steaks,°ll'
t
angy
her throat from ear to ear." He heard the 01°11
say he would go, find afterwards the door clooe
on
u•
He then went down And found his father lying
the screen. His mother followed him down 0°
shut the door. Prisoner r efused to go to be& 0°
they put a jacket under his' head, took his 0)3°,1
off; and put a chair under hio feet, and left kTS
asleep. In about a quarter of an hour afterwal)
he heard the prisoner cry out, " Sam, get up, oa
get me a light; I want to go to bed." He sek.
his mother to go down, as he heal to rise early
the morning to go to work. His mother Ito
down, and he heard her poking the fire. W_11,1;
she was doing so, prisoner said, " Gie us a sl°"'
Polly." Immediately after this he heard else'
knife closed, and the prisoner say, " Now, I
satisfied," and his mother came to the bottom °,,
the stairs and said, " Oh, Sam, I am stabbed-t
His mother then went out at the door. He Well„
down immediately, and found his father lying (4"

the screen.
The deceased, it appeared front other evidence'
had been stabbed in the left side of the abdomen'
and died on the following night.
When the deposition of the deceased was rear:loll!
to him, the prisoner said—" I was drunk at the dine'
she was a very good wife to me." Before the easfil
trates he said—" I was very helpless drunk ind=o,s
I had no occasion to set about her. She was a go'
wife to me."
The Judge summed np the case as one of Wilfel
murder.
The jury after a brief deliberation returned
verdict of that nature.
His lordship was about passinV sentence of delt,!j'e
when the prisoner's mother ski .ieked out tinhe
gallery, and had to be removed. .26,t the same ulna
the prisoner fell upon his, -8 it,' the dock the
began to shed tears. H'l uPb tit'
gaolers, and ceasing , receivee' the aff
sentence of death in tl• form. e the
The unhappy criminal, as he was led out en
dock, found vent for his feelings in tears Ae'
r
The next prisoner charged with wilful 'mu
was Ann Williams, aged 31, who had been coil
mitted for the murder of her infant child. vese
Mr. M'Mahon prosecuted, and Mr. Scotland
instructed by the judge to watch the case for -
prisoner. lot
The evidence ',glowed that about the end of ".tlr
September the prisoner left her home at Willenhau
with her child in hey arms very early in the more
ing. She was missed for some time, and the cane
was searched for her. ,Subsquently she was Olin
at the house of a relative some few miles s'iv.l
without her babe, and apparently of unsound re,„
On being brought home, she' said the child was re
the canal. By one witness si2e seen carrying tel
child along the bank, and by twe other witnesee,
she was seen the same morning standing on a bride;
which crosses the canal, still with the child in be_,
arms. After she had been on this i'ridge she WZ
seen to be without the child, whose bi.ltly was elt,
sequently found in the canal not far from t"'"
bridge.
The surgeon who was called in to see her will
she was brought home was of opinion that the
woman was insane. There was reason to belie;
that her insaaity wee occasioned by exceeel'

nursing.
The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty.
His lordship asked on what ground ?
The foreman did not seem able to give a satisfef.
tory reply ; but one of the twelve said they wen
not satisfied that the prisoner threw the child in
w
the water.
His lordship made no reply-, and ordered til°
woman's discharge. A for
Stephen Dickenson, 40, was then arriOgne,•
the wilful murder of Elizabeth Dicketoson, on to'
sth of August, 1860, at the borough of NoWcastle'
under• Lyme.
Mr. A. S. Hill was instructed by his lordship t°
watch the case for the prisoner.
The evidence showed that the prisoner was
sane, and that the deceased was hie mother. L"
had been visited by a parish surgeon two or three
days before, and instructions given for the remoTs
beyond his reach of any cutting instruments. °II
the day in question his mother was taing him 11P.
medicine, when on the top of the lauding he Ine"
his mother and struck her on the head v•ith a lare
wooden stand called a candle-block, that the pri-
soner had been accustomed to use when working
by night as a shoemaker.
• The judge stopped the case, and put it to the
jury it it was necessary to proceed with it ?
The jury found the prisoner guilty of wfor;•
murder, committed when he was in a Rate of 4"
sanity.
His lordship sentenced the prisoner to confine
ment during her Majesty's pleasure.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT--LivmarooL, Dec. 11'
(Before Mr. Justice Keating.)
WIFE MURDER IN LITERPOOL.
Thomas Newsham, 38, was charged with the
murder of his wife in Homer-street, Liverpool, 00.
the 18th of September last.
It appeared from the evidence that the prisoner
and his wife had lived together for some time 00
tolerably friendly terms. On the day of the occur"
rence in question there was a quarrel between
parties, when the deceased, being drunk, was heat
to use very improper and provoking language?
which very much irritated her husband. In the
course of the squabble the prisoner used a knife,
and stabbed his wife in the left side, the wound
causing death. For the defence it Nvud
contedded that there was no deliberate
malice on the prisoner's part, and ultimately he was
found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to penal'
servitude for life.
MURDER ON SHIPBOARD.
A Norwegian seaman, named Henry Lawson, wail
tried for the murder of Charles P. Wallace, boat-
swain of the American ship Lombard. On the 228-
of August last, while the Lombard was lying in
the Liverpool Docks, the prisoner went to his bed
and refused to work. This led to a fight between
the p; ironer and deceased, in the course of which
the latter was stabbed bi,Lawson in the neck. The
wound 'partially severed the windpipe, and the
boatswain tilt;mately died on the Ist of Sept.
Mr. Justice IC9a,ing sentenced him to penal Der'
slalulhge hte juryand found the prisoner guilty of roan-
vitude for life.
Mr. Justice Blackburn commenced trying 6141
cases in the Nisi Prim Court. The mine list is
small, and the cases of little public interest.

VACANCIES OCCASIONED B - THE DEATH OF TO
EARL OF ABERDEEN.-By the death of the Right Ho.
the Earl of Aberdeen the following vatoncies are caused
Chancellorship of the University of .V,)erdeen, lord lieu-
tenancy of the county, representation of tho county tivougaill
the elevation of Lord Haddo to the peerz'g®, and sever
knighthoods and other dignities, including'
knighthood
oft he Garter.

BI ItT.HS.
AITKEN.—On the 15th inst., at Wallington, tho wild
the Rev. James Aitken, of a son.
HARCOURT.—On the 14th inst., at 71, St. George's-squarro
Belgravia, Mrs. Harcourt, of a daughter.
POCHIN.—On the 15th inst., at Leicester, the wife of Limit'
Ralph George Pochin, R.N., of a son.
ST. AUTIYN.—On the 15th inst., at Pondrea, Cornwall, the
Ludy Elizabeth St. Aubyn, of a daughter.
MAItItIA(I S.
LUFKIN—HARVEY.—On the 11th inst., at Stowmar 'fret
Church, George Lufkin, Esq., of the India-010 ,„9 '"
Elizabeth Christiana, only child of the late John Gadd'
Harvey. Esq., of Stansfield Hall, Suffolk.
SMITH—HANSLER.—On the 15th inst. at St. Savioet
Maida-hill, Henry Clement Smith, Esq., , of St. Leonard °
terrace, Maida-hill, to Josephine, only daughter of Capt
Hansler, of Kensington, J.P. for Middlesex.

DICATHB.
ALLEN.—On the 15th inst., at 3, Craven-hill, Hyde-park,
Ellen Allen, daughter of the late Joseph Allen, D.D.I
Lord Bishop of Ely, aged E.
BUTTON.—On the 10th inst., at Norwood, Hamm'', relict
A
of the late Captain Usmond Button, R.N.
CLARK e
—On the
thFe.l,l6.ts., 16th inst, ,agaetdl9Bo,. Giltspur-atreet, E.C.,
B,ra;,
JEuvis.—On the 12th inst., Mr. Francis P. Jervis, of 26,
Edward-street, Portman-square, aged 28.
MILLS.—On the 14th inst., at Botesdale, the Rev. John
Mills, M.A., aged 52.
WEIR.—On the 16th inst., at 12, Arlington-street, D. C.
Webb, Esq., aged 64.
WILLIAMs.—On the 12th inst., at Bath, Major-General
W. Freke Williams,
K.H., aged 68.

Lennox : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG. of
Ns. 112, Strand, Printer, at TnE SUN Office, No. 112, Strang,
in the Precinct of the Savoy. in the County of middie!sea,
Tueeday, DOGCLOber 18, lded.