The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-20 00:00:00

THE SUN, %LONDON; THURSDAY EVEINING, DECEMBER 20, 180%

in the capacity of special constables, tiatd dividing returned with a verdict of guilty, but strongly re-
the county into districts for the pull vs.°, were commended the prisoner to mercy on account of his
passed unanimously, and copies of these directed to youth. The Judge then put on the black cap, and
be forwarded to his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant. said he could not trust himself to comment upon the
An address to the same effect, from the inhabitants awfulness of having to pass sentence of death on a
of Mohill, in the same county, has been lorwarded boy so young. He would convey the recommenda-
to the Government, through Mr. R. Ornvby Gore. tion of the jury to the proper quarter. His duty
The anniversary of the burning of Lundy at Lon- simply was to pronounce the sentence of the law,
donderry was observed yesterday with the customary and his lordship then did so in the usual form.
displays, the loyalty of the 'Prentice Boys being There was much sobbing among the women in the
naturally stimulated by the talk of a Fenian rising. gallery, and the judge himself was deeply moved.
The High Sheriff of Waterford, Mr. R. I'. Carew, The prisoner maintained to the end au impassive
has fixed the nomination for that county on the 26th and stolid bearing, betraying riot the least emotion
inst., and the Saturday following for the polling.
Mr. De la Poer has had a series of "Demonstra-
tions" through the county, but Capt. Talbot's friends
are confident, and it is admitted on both sides that
the contest will bo close. The Daily Express men-
tions a report that Sir Robert J. Paul will propose,
and Mr. W. Christmas, D. L., second Capt. Talbot's
nomination, and that Mr. De la Poer will be pro-
posed by Sir R. Musgrave, and seconded by a priest.
Mr. Heenan, coroner of the King's County, was
found dead on the road in a pool of water, near
Parsonstown, yesterday morning. The Daily Ex-
press correspondent says :—" It appears that Mr.
Heenan had been in town on business, and when
within a few hundred yards of his own dwelling his
foot slipped, and, not being able to extricate him-
self from the slimy bottom, he met his death. The
greatest gloom prevails among all classes on accoun
of his untimely death."

HOME CIRCUIT.--MAIDSTONE, Dec. 19.
(Before Mr. Baron' Channel!.)
In charging the grand jury this morning Mr.
Baron Channel! said it was a source of great gratifi-
cation to him to meet the grand jury of the impor-
tant county of Kent, with which, in the course of
his professional career, and since he had had the
honour of being raised to the bench, he had been so
closely and intimately connected. That gratifica-
tion on the present occasion was somewhat dimi-
nished by the nature of the calendar, which con-
tained four cases of burglary, a case of concealment
of birth, one of forgery, and all the rest of the 26
cases involved personal violence in a greater or less
degree, and from which death had resulted in four
or five instances. It was, however, only fair to say
that two of them were remaneta from the last as-
sizes, and a great many of the others were due to
the hopping season ; and so in a certain sense were
not fairly to be classed with the crime of the county.
After some general remarks as to the prima facie
character of the investigation of grand juries, he
noticed in detail the particulars of several of the
cases, which, however, he said, presented no features
of especial difficulty, and then dismissed the grand
jury to their labours with an exhortation to the
county to support not merely with their pecuniary
contributions, but with personal advocacy, all those
institutions which were designed to promote habits
of industry and sobriety amongst the lower orders,
and particularly in those for the dissemination of a
sound religious education.
THE TUNBRIDGE-WELLS MURDER.
An application having been made to the Court to
fix the trial of Ann Lawrence, for the murder of her
child at Tunbridge-wells, in April last, at which
time, it will be remembered, the accused also nearly
murdered a man with whom she was then living,
who was not her husband,
The Judge fixed the trial for Thursday at nine
o'clock, but added that although it was now decided
the judge had a legal right to discharge a jury at 12
o'clock on Saturday night, it was much better not to
defer important trials to the end of the week if it
could be arranged otherwise.
ROBBERY BY A MARINE.
John Jordan, aged 22, a marine, indicted for a
robbery from the person, and whose trial was de-
fe-tred from last assizes, was now arraigned.
Mr. Rosher was counsel for the prosecution, and
the prisoner was undefended.
The prosecutor, John Ede, was in the Coach and
Horses public-house, at Chatham, where there were
seven or eight soldiers. After a time they seized
prosecutor, held him up by the heels, and emptied
his pockets of their contents, including money, a
watch, and a knife.
The prisoner was clearly identified, and being I
found guilty was sentenced to eight months'iliardli
labour.

The Cork Examiner reports that a man named
Shine has been arrested for sending a threatening
letter to the Earl of Bandon. The prisoner was
formerly in his Lordship's employment as a harness-
maker. He also worked for the family at elections.
The object of the threat was to extort money. After
a private investigation by the magistrates, Lord
Bandon declined to prosecute on the condition that
the young man's father would have him sent out of
the country. He will, therefore, be put on board
the next American steamer by the police.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

LEEDS, Dec. 18
(Before Mr. Justice Lush.)

MURDERING A FELLOW-APPRENTICE AT SHEFFIELD.
Henry Gabbitas, 16, draper, was charged with
the wilful murder of Arthur Allen, at Sheffield, on
the 22d of November last. He pleaded guilty to
the charge on Saturday, but by the advice of
his counsel he afterwards withdrew that plea.
—Mr. Foster opened the case to the jury,
stating that the prisoner was charged with
the murder of another boy, about his own age, who
was his fellow apprentice, both being in the service
of Mr. Edmund Draper, hosier and draper, Fargate,
Sheffield. The deceased had been nine months in
Mr. Draper's service, and the prisoner 2 years and
8 months on the 22d of November. Allen was aged
15, and prisoner 16 or 17. Mr. Draper would tell
them that the prisoner was a tolerably steady and
good lad. He and Allen occupied one bed, and there
was no reason on the 22d of November to believe
that there was any ill-blood between them. They
had been accustomed after business hours to go out
until 10 o'clock, but their master had deprived them
of that privilege because Allen, while the prisoner
waited outside, went into a confectioner's shop and
hada glass of wine and a tart,though he had no money
with which to pay for it. For this misconduct he
punished both of them by keeping them indoors each
night. Nothing, however, had transpired to show
that the prisoner entertained any animosity tql,vards
Allen because of that deprivation. On the night of
the 21st they went to bed as usual, and there was
nothing to excite any suspicion ; but at 7 o'clock
next morning Mr. Draper was awoke by a knock at
his door, and, on inquiring what was wanted, he was
answered by the prisoner saying, " I've killed
Arthur." Mr. Draper said, " What have you done ?"
and prisoner repeated, " I've killed Arthur." " Oh,
what do you mean ?" exclaimed Mr. Draper; and
the prisoner answered, " I've hammered his head
with a hammer, and stabbed him with a knife, and
have killed him." Mr. Draper got out of bed, and,
entering the apprentices' room, he found Allen wel-
tering in his bloo 1, on the dressing table a bloody
hammer, and on the bed a carving knife, bloody and
broken. As the prisoner was being taken into the
police office a fellow-apprentice, named Mos-4, said
to him, " Why have you killed him ?" and "Do
you know what you have been doing ?" and the
prisoner's reply was, " I did it for revenge." The
surgeon (Mr. Favell) found that ou his left temple
the deceased had received a violent blow which had
driven in part of the skull, and on the crown of the
head another blow which had fractured the skull.
In the neck there was a wound of superficial cha-
racter, which might have been inflicted by the carv-
ing knife. The knife and the hammer must have
been carried up to the bedroom the night before
by the prisoner—for the hammer was in constant
use down stairs and the knife belonged to the shop,
so that (the learned counsel said) it had required
some degree of contrivance on the part of the pri-
soner to secrete those weapons in that way. He
asked if that did not show a degree of premedita-
tion indicating contemplation of the deed in ques-
tion, and proving that the murder was wilfully and
intentionally done. Several witnesses having been
called to prove the facts stated, Dr. Pyemont
Smith, of Mount Stead Retreat, near likely, said
he had visited the prisoner that morning, and talked
with him. Prisoner talked rationally, calmly, but
with a slight degree of reserve. He answered all
questions, but volunteered none. His appearance
altogether is defective, but there was nothing about
the head indicating disease of the brain. His face

was the worst part, the lower part being very re-
ceding. The conversation turned upon the present
accusation. Mr. W. N. Price, surgeon to the Leeds
gaol, deposed that he had several opportunities of
conversing with and noticing the prisoner, and he
believed he knew right from wrong, and he was
able to understand the consequences of auy act he
might do. Mr. Waddy, for the defendant, said he
should call before them those who had known the
boy from the time of his very birth—a child of a
very fond, affectionate, and devoted mother, who
was consumptive, and who died and left him when
he was only five yearsof age. He should also show
that the prisoner had had a constant succession of
fits—these afflictions extending over some length of
time, and drawing from his own mother at one time
the expression of the wish that the Lord would take
him first, inasmuch as she considered he was men-
tally and physically ruined by this ailment. After
prisoner's mother died, the father, unfortunately for
the lad, married again, and when that event took
place the whole course and history of the lad's life
was changed, lle was then treated with great cruelty,
and made to undergo considerable hardships. The
step mother systematically ill treated him, and soured
his life. The prisoner himself bad declared, in un-
guarded moments, and when he was suffering from
streeaktmneeNnvth,
he was
hisdoo
msteedpmtootthheer toldghaald-
this am
hshimtelfautl
h
lows. From his early days that appalling vision had
haunted and darkened his life until ithad culminated
in the horrible thing about which they had that day
to inquire. Medical men would also be called who
were familiar with cases of homicidal monomania,
and their testimony would be entitled to the careful
consideration of the jury. Evidence being given to
the stepmother's treatment of the boy and to prove
that he had been subject to fits, Dr. C. Williams, of
York, said he considered the prisoner to be of un-

sound mind. Dr. Kitchen, of the York Retreat, was
also called to confirm Dr. Williams's evidence. He
said the prisoner told him he always had a belief he
should kill some one or himself, and finding himself
in a bedroom with a fellow-apprentice he thought

his opportunity had come, and he seized it. He said
he never had had an opportunity before. Formerly

he slept with an assistant, and he thought of killing

him, but he thought he would be too strong for him.
He said his stepmother had so instilled tin idea into
his mind that he would come to the gallows, that he
felt it was indisputable that he must kill some one.

Theprisoner was an imperfectly developed creature,
both mentally and physically. He told witness he

had never read the Bible except at the Sunday

school; he could not tell the arrangement of the Com-

mandments, nor name the first fire books of the

Bible.

The jury retired, and after 18 minutes absence

Witness—Yes.