The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-12 00:00:00

ASSIZE INTELLIGENOE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—YoBit, Dec. 10.
(Before Mr. Justice Wightman.)
Nearly' the whole of to-day was occupied' with
the trial o'f cases the particulars of which are unfit
for publicastion-
Mary Arnt Addey, and 19, a good-looking, young
woman, was :;_ndicted for the wilful murder of her
female child, a--5t Huddersfield, in the West Riding,
eptember last. •
on the 19th of
Mr. Blanshar d and Mr. Wheelhouse prosecuted ;
and Mr. 'Maule clzfended the prisoner.
It appears that the prisoner was engaged in the
mill of Messrs. 1-lattersley, manufacturers, near
Huddersfield. Fo'r' some time previous to the 19th
September the pri_loner's shape had attracted the
attention of sonic t. If her fellow workmen ,
-w and
workwomen, also of Janet Sykes, a
witnessho
had on different occons made remarks on the
a moons
subject to the prisoth r herself, who hadinva-
riably treated the ma tter jocularly. On the
afternoon of the 16th .of September Sykes re-
marked to her " Thee :looks first-tate now,"
and on the morning of the 20th she met, prisoner
coming to her work much later than usual,' and
lookinc, very ill. It was proN'ed by the evidence of
the girl's own father that during that night she had_
left the house for the professed purpose of going to
the petty; that her parents, aftev waiting a consi-
derable time, went out to seek her, an foUnd that
she was not where she had led thea a l to expect. See
returned immediately afterwards, d coMplain
that she was very unwell. The next' mo
Crnin bo
g„ in a
field about 100 yards from the house hild'sbody
was found, covered with blood and Ib'earing all the
marks of premature birth. The umbil calf ord
ence was'
torn, not tied ; but there were no markt' oviol
to account for death. The surgeon, howi,,ver, swore
that he believed the girl to have been rec'entlY de-
livered, and that the child had breathed. \
‘vas also
attempted to be proved that a child's cry was heard
near the spot where the body was found, just ai' the
time when the girl had left the house, but this w:v3
not satisfactorily shown.
Mr. Manic addressed the jury for the prisoner ;
he contended that it had not been provod with any
degree of certainty that the girl was the mother of
the child in question, or that there was any evidence
whatever that the child had ever had an indepen-
dent existence ; or, finally, that it could be shown
that even, if born ive, it had died a violent death.
His Lordship put all these questions to the jury
with much force and clearness, and the jury retired
to consider their verdict.
They returned into court after an absence of
nearly two hours, and stated that:they had agreed
to acquit the prisoner of the charge of murder, but
requested further directions as to the charge of con-
cealment of birth included in the indictment.
His Lordship Laid down the law on this point,
and the jury, after a short consideration, acquitted
the prisoner. •
•

MIDLAND CIii,CUIT.—NORTHAMPToN, lite .9.
...Martha Ann Lewis stood charged with having, ,
at thoparish of•Finedon, on the 17th of August last,'
killed and murdered Ernest Wallington Lewis ; and
further, with having at the same place and: on the
same day killed:and murdered Lizzy Winifred May
Lewis. She was also charged with both offences
on the coroner's inquisition, and to, each charge
pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Maunsell conducted the prosecution ; the prix
soner was defended. by Mr. O'Brien. '
The facts proved in support of both indictments
were the same. It appeared, on the opening state-
ment of Mr. Maunsell and the, evidence adduced in
support of the charges, that the prisoner was the
mother of the two deceased children named in the
indictment, the boy being two years . and eight
months old,. and the girl, a baby of four or five
months old. On. the 17th of August, about 6 o'clock
in the evening, Warren Chapman, who worked with
Joseph :Wallington, the prisoner's brother, on re-
turning home went,.in consequence of something he
had heard, to look for the prisoner. On reaching a
pond'of Mr. Mackworth Dolberes, he observed an
apron with a pair of scissors tied. to it lying under
utree upon the bank, and in the pond the body of
the boy Ernest W.-Lewis, which he took out and
found was lifeless. A man named Desborough
coming by about the same time drew out the body of
the !baby, which was also in the pond. Ephraim
Lewis, the .prisoner's father-in-law, on going down
towards the pond, met thoparish constable: Parker
carrying the dead body of the boy towards F,inedon,
. and went on towards the cottage of i ise Dolben,
about 200 yards distant from the pond,. where he
fonnd, the prisoner seated on the grass under some
trees behind the cottage garden' with her headbent
down and her, arras. resting on her
.lap. On being
asked where her baby was she replied, They are
both in the water ; I threw them in."
Before the bodies of the children were found the
prisoner's brother, who had gone to rook for her, had
found her at the place already mentioned gazing
towards the pond where Se:-..Lreh was being, made. He
asked her where the children were ; she answered
" Lower down," and sat still, seeming dull and de-
jected. She was led to the cottage of a Mrs. Archer,
where she remained some time in a state of uncon-
sciousness. ~ .

It was eliched, in cross-examination of the wit-. 1
nesses for the prosecution, that up to within
months of the day in question she had been of a calm,
cheerful, and 'happy disposition, but •at that time a
melancholy had come upon her, which had increased.
after the birth of her' baby. She had left home
without any apparent cause, as she had no quarrel
with her husband, whom she said she loved. She
had on one occasion, it appeared, attempted self
destruction, and on another occasion, When found
by"her brother in a lane 'to i.vhit,h she had wan
dered, the dejection in which he found her induced
him to remonstrate with her and dissuade her from
attempting suicide.
Mr. O'Brien addressed the jury for the defence,
which he said the opening of the learned counsel
for the prosecution must rilready have led the jury
to anticipb.te was that the prisoner, who it' was
proved had beena careful, fend, affectionate mother
until that sad change of which they had heard
had Clouded her mind, was not, at the time' when
her children met their' deaths by her hand in
such a state of mind as to be. responsible for her
actions.

No motive for the act was suggested on -the part
of the prosecution.
A number of witnesses were called who cOrroba-
rated the evidence of insanity alieacly'gi#en, among
whom were the surgeon of the gaol and the surgeon
of the Northamptonshire Lunatic Asylum, in whose
care the prisoner had' been under a warrant from
the Rothe Secretary: Both' gentlemen gave their
opinion in the most deeided manner that the pri-
soner was not, on the day in question, in a state of
mind to be accountable for her conduct:

The learned Judge having summed up the evi-
dence,-the :pry returned a verdict of Not Guilty on
the ground of insanity.
A like verdict was returned upon` the second in-
dictment, and no evidence being offered on the toro-
ner's inquisitions, a verdict of Not Guilty was taken
upon those charges.
The.prisoner was ordered to be detained until
her Majesty's pleasure should be known.
John Byrne pleaded Not Guilty to a charge of
wounding William Gent with intent to murder, and
with 'minor intents.

Mr. Merewether conducted the prosecution, and
Mr. Cockle defended the prisoner, - •
It appeared from the evidence that about a guar,-
ter past 12 a.m., on the 13th of October,'John Byrne,
son. of the prisoner, had gut into a conflict in Brook-
street, Daventry, and that the prisoner went 'to his
assistance with a knife. A man named Marriott.
remonstrated. with him, upon which -the prisoner
struck at him and afterwards at Gent, who was in,
'the crowd near to prisoner's son, and wounded him
in two places a little above and .below the region of
the heart.

• Mr. Cockle addressed the jury for the prisoner,
and

The Judge having summed np the evidence, the
jury found the prisoner guilty of wounding with
intent to do grievous bodily harm.— Sen tenced to 18
calendar month's' imprisonment, with hard labour.
John Sewell, a boy nine years of _age, pleaded
guilty to a charge of setting fire to msfitek of straw,
the property of his master, at Clipston, on the 25th
of July; and William Brown and Charles West to
the charge of setting fire to a hovel, the property of
Richard Scrivener of Cosgrove, on the 16th of
August.

. .
The boy Sewell 'was sentenced to two Inonths'.',
imprisonment and to he twice whipped, and Brown
and -West, both full-grown men, each to lour years'
penal servitude. •
The Court rose at :eight o'clock. • . .
'l)r.cic.‘inr.a. 10.
Mr. .Tastice Crompton too;: his- scat at 9 a.m.
(3corcre White, chargal with the maut.ilanghter
of Affi i\rbvnian, at Wollaston and George
White with aiding and
Ilraiker-'anti 'Frederick
abettinz hind in that offence, all *pleaded "Not

guilty."
' . Mr. Markham conducted the pioseention, and
Mr.'Merewether watched the case ig inst the two
Whites..
thr,t the death of IV7lnan resulted
from
,a blOw given in' a' fair stand-up.fight between
himself and George Wfiite,-in which the other two
prisoners acted as seconds.
Mr.Verewcther declined' addressing the jury,
and the learned Judge having summed up, the
jicy convicted all the prisoners.
Gorge, White, having already been in- prison
three months, was sentenced' to two calendar
months' imprisonment.
Edward Coe pleaded .not guilty ,to .a charge of