The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-22 00:00:00

THE _RICHMOND MURDER.

After the sentence of death had been passed upon
Dr. Smethurst the warrant of the court, signed by
the Lord Chief Baron, was hanied to Mr. Jonas,
the governor of Newgate, for his removal to the
county gaol of Surrey, Horsemonger-lane, but, as a
great multitude of persons were waiting in the Old
Bailey anxious to catch a glimpse of the prisoner.
an ingenious mode was resorted to in order to avoid
confusion. A cab was driven to the door of the
gaol, in which it was of course expected that ho
would be taken away, but instead of this the pri-
soner was taken by Mr. Jonas and Humphreys,
the principal warder, through the courts and by
the entrance to the New Court into the Old
Bailey, where a cab was in readiness, and he was
safely lodged in Horsemonger-lane Gaol before the
crowd were aware that he had left Newgate.
Since the prisoner has been confined in New-
gate he has upon several occasions appeared
desirous to enter into conversation with those,
about him upon the' subject of his crime ; and
he appeared very anxious to impress them with
the idea that there was no foundation for the charge
of murder. There is, however, this singular re-
semblance between the prisoner and William Pal-
mer, that he evidently has some reservation on his
mind, as he invariably declares, that " arsenic " was
not the cause of death ; and it will be remembered
that down to the last moment Palmer declared that
Cook did not die of " strychnine," and that it was
reasonably inferred, from the observations he made,
that some other description of poison hat been
made use of. On the way from Newgate to Horse-
monger-lane Gaol Dr. Smethurst again repeatedly
declared his innocence, and asserted, as he did be-
fore sentence was pronounced against him, that the
charge had been made up from ill feeling towards
him ; and it appears that since he has been in con-
finement he has repeatedly made use of the expres-
sion that Dr. Taylor would rather his life should be
sacrificed than that his own reputation should be
in any way affected or injured.
For a great many years Monday was the day
upon which executions took place in the county of
Surrey, but owing to its being necessary to erect
the scaffold on the top of the gaol on Sunday, and
some remarks having been made upon the subject,
the day was altered to' Tuesday. Under the ordi-
nary course the execution will take place on Tues-
day fortnight, but the sheriff has the entire power
of making the arrangements in these matters, and
he may appoint an earlier or later day, if he thinks
proper to do so, but in all probability the execution
will take place on the day above named. Dr.
Smethurst appears to be a man of strong nerves,
and he does not seem at all alarmed at his position,
but quite as cool and collected as before and dur-
ing his long trial. It appears from observations
made by him after each day's proceedings had
closed that for the first three days he felt a strong
confidence that he should be acquitted, and after
Dr. Taylor had been examined, when the court
adjourned to take refreshment, he expressed him-
self to the effect that his evidence had been entirely
destroyed by the cross-examination of Sergeant
Parry, that the jury could not place any reliance
upon it, and that consequently he must be acquitted.
When, however, the Lord Chief Baron com-
menced summing up, and it was evident that he had
taken a very strong view of the case adverse to the
prisoner, his confidence was speedily dispelled, and
after the first day's summing up he regarded the
issue with very great anxiety, and this accounted
for his altered appearance on the last day of the
trial. Since Dr. Smethurst has been in confine-
ment he has only been visited by one relative, his
brother. Although the age of the prisoner was
stated to be only 48, it is certain that he is several
years older, his marriage with his first wife having
taken place thirty years ago, she being at that timo
44 or 45 years old. This fact has been ascertained
in rather a singular manner, and it appears that in
the very year when the first marriage took place,
1828, the prisoner was in custody at Horsemonger-
lane Gaol upon a charge of obtaining goods by
false pretences, and at that time his age was stated
to be 24, so that he would be now 54 years old, and
this is believed to be his correct age. He was under
remand at this time for a week and was then.dis-
charged by the magistrate.
Some doubts appear to be entertained, notwith-
standing the conviction and sentence of the pri •
soner, whether the capital sentence will be carried
out. It is said that during the trial an opinion was
expressed in high quarters that it was a case for a
conviction, but not one in which the capital punish-
ment should be carried out, and this opinion seems
to be very considerably confirmed by the fact that
the Chief Baron, in passing sentence merely made
some observations in reference to the crime and to
the prisoner's statement, and omittted altogether to
tell him that there was no hope, and to prepare to
leave this world, which is always done in cases
where the judge intends the sentence of death to be
carried out. This may have been an accidental
omission in the excitement of the moment, but per-
sons well qualified to form a judgment infer that it
was intentional, and that the crown will be recom-
mended to spare the life of the prisoner, and com-
mute the capital sentence to one of penal servitude
for life.

ATTEMPTED MURDER ON PLAISTOW
!MARSH.

At the Ilford special sessions on Saturday, James
Digby, a labourer was charged with stabbing a man
Ranted John Sharp in the face with a clasp knife,
and who is at present lying in a dying state in the
Poplar Hospital.
Police-constable 341 K, deposed that on Monday
night last, between ten and eleven o'clock, while
on duty near the north side of Plaistow marsh,
he heard a cry of " Murder," and "Police." Wit-
ness hastened to about the centre of the marsh, and
saw the prisoner struggling with the man Sharp
upon the ground. Witness separated them, and
found Sharp bleeding from a deep wound in the
left cheek. He informed witness that the prisoner
had stabbed him with a pocket knife. The prisoner
did not deny the charge, and said, " Yes, it served
him right." The injured man was seen by a sur-
geon, who dressed the wound, and ordered his
immediate removal to the hospital, whither he was
conveyed in a 'cab.
The following certificate was handed to the ma-
gistrate :

" I hereby certify that John Sharp is lying in a
very dangerous condition from an incised wound of
the face, which will no doubt prove fataI.—MAT-
THEW BROMFIELD, House-surgeon of the Poplar
Hospital."
The Chairman (to the prisoner)—Have you any-
thing to say in answer to this very serious charge
of cutting and wounding ?
Prisoner (sullenly)—No, I have not.
The Chairman—Then you stand remanded until
Saturday next.
The prisoner was accordingly conveyed back to
Ilford gaol.
The constable, in answer to the Chairman, said
that every search had been
.made for the knife with
which the injury had been inflicted, but it had not
been found.

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ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LivEnrooL, AUG. 20.
CROWN COURT.
(Before Mr. Baron Watson.)
Zachariah Hardman, Joseph Booth, and Ptinees
Murphy, were indicted for the misdemeanour of
undue influence upon one Jas. Constantine, a voter,
at the last election for Bury in Lancashire.
Dr. Wheeler and Mr. Chas. Hopwood appeared
for the prosecution ; Mr. Overend, Q.C., and Mr.
Iliggin defended Booth and Murphy; Mr. Fernley
appeared for Hardman.
'lle indictment in various counts charged the de-
fendants in the terms of the Corrupt Practices Pre-
vention Act, 1854 (17th and 18th Vict., cap. 102,
sec. 5), with making use of, and threatening force,
violence, and restraint, and inflicting injury,
damage, and harm, and practising intimidation on
James Constantine, a voter, in order to induce all
compel him to vote or refrain from voting.
with
also for impeding, preventing, and interfering
the free exercise of the franchise of the said James
Constantine, by abduction, duress, and fraudulent
device.
This was a case of " bottling" a voter, and has
attracted much attention in the county.
At the recent election for Bury the Right Hon;
F. Peel and Mr. Barnes, who formerly represented
Bolton, were the candidates. Political feeling wa
excited to great bitterness, and it appeared from
the evidence that " bottling" voters was not of un-
common occurrence, but this case was more re
_
markable on account of the ill-usage received by
the prosecutor.
Jas. Constantine, examined by Mr. Hop Wen-11-41
live at Elton, which is part of Bury. My Politil
opinions are well known there. I was for Barnes-, _
went to the New Inn at a quarter past seven on t10,,e.
morning of the nomination day, the 29th of Aprild
It was a " Peel" house. I found there Hardnian,9',ld
Booth. They said I must drink with them. it
so. It was dark-coloured drink. Can't say villtna
was. I got up to go, and they " downed" Ine
" doubled me up." They carried me into a ea.,e
Hardman and another got inside, Booth nutsi°
with the driver. The driver was Phinu MurP„ilhli
C
I shrieked out as well as I could, but Hardman o
his hand on my mouth. I was carried in thecau
Mr. Sudren's print-works at Bolholt, and from thud,
to Astley-bridge, near 4301t0n. The cab went rano"
and not by the usual road. On the way ilarjuibit
kept me down with his knee in my back. Ile go
me in the mouth and knocked out my tooth.
es
several times asked me why I would go for Bar.° e,
and not for Peel. I got the cab door open twicot
and it was shut to, and the last time some one got
off the cab and hit me on the face. When sve
to Astley-bridge we stopped at the Tipping Ar .ed
I was quite "dateless" and exhausted. They, ear° s
me into the house. While they were doing,ah°o
woman came up and asked "What was to do ?" iota
said they had found me drunk, beating ,my they
against the ground. I said they were liars,
had done it themselves. They carried me up
over
into a room, and there Hardman put a -Ont.
my mouth and suffocated me, because I ern:a,
He said, " Will yov vote for Barnes now ?' off
I will if you leave life enough." They took Li-
my shoes. They pressed me with the pillows wled
ever I cried out. They held my nose and,E.°u
ave wets
spirits down my throat. Hardman and
to h
in the room. At last I made an excuse b.
bucket. They brought one, and I threw it throuftger
the window, breaking glass, frame, and all.
A called
this they let me be, and I went outside an- na
Murder" until the landlady came out to rile, :as
gave me ss. to get home. When I got home -I. a I
bruised all over, a tooth was knocked out, an
I
was covered with blood. For a fortnight I wss
and passed blood. r 0
Several witnesses corroborated the prosecif the
to the mode in which he was carried off, and
manner of arrival at Astley-bridge. galled
For the defence a number of persons were
to contradict the prosecutor, and to prove the cu•.:,.
to be a drunken spree, in which the proseeutor.wf,
a willing actor, and to show that part of the ns,
to his face was occasioned by his falling again. he
table in Mr. Sudren's house at Bolholt, whcr
had no recollection of having been.
Mr. Sudren, who was called, was obliged t°
mit active partizanship for Peel ; and it transP7ot
from another witness that the prosecutor was*.
the only voter who had been " bottled" at
Sudren's.
Some witnesses were called to show that Bee
left the party at the print works, and 'did not, goon
to Astley-bridge.
Dr. Wheeleereplied upon the whole case, e.e..61:r
menting forcibly upon the evidence
the defence, and pointing out many discrePatic,:„
in it and indications of complicitly and partizanewr
which made it unworthy of reliance.
The learned Judge summed up the case, ular!--„d..
ling the evidence as it affected the various defers
ants. He pointed out the importance of enforcing
strictly the provisions of an Act of Parlianlen,v.!
which had for its object the repression of all al
produced for
the
tempts to coerce the free exercise of the franchistheel:._
The jury retired at 5 o'clock to consider
verdict, and after an absenee of an hour came je
say that there was not the slightest chanee of their
agreeing. A little after 7 o'clock the jury having
t
agreed went to the judge's lodgings with a verdict
of Guilty against Hardman and Booth, and ac-
uitting Murphy.