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London, England, 1857-12-09 00:00:00

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[ PRIOR 4L J. STAMPED 5D .]

ASSIZE INTELLIGENOE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT—LIVERPOOL, Dee. 7:
(Before'Mr. Justice Wightman.)
Aaron Mellor was indicted for the wilful murder
of Alice Mellor', -at Bolton, on the let of October
last.
rosecuted
Mr. Sowler and Mr,- Higgin p, and Mr.
J. Fearuley defended the prisoner.
The learned counsel, in opening the case upon
the part of the prosecution, stated that the prisoner
and the deceased hadbeen married for five years,
but had latterly lived very unhappily together, and
had repeated quarrels. Owing to the temper of the
prisoner-altercations continued, and finally they
separated on the 28th of September lad, the de-
ceased taking with her the youngest of their three
children, an infant in arms, and going to lodge at
the house of a Mrs, Cunningham in Bolton. It
appeared that though the deceased lived at Cun-
ningham's, she went daily to take her meals at her
mother's house • and about 7 o'clock on the even-
ing of the Ist dOctober, while at supper with her
mother, the prisoner came in and asked his wife to
go home with him, but she, positively refused, and
he went away. In a few minutes he returned and
met deceased and her mother, coming out, and
again he inquired if his wife world go home with
him, and asked where they were going. At last
the deceased acceded to his entreatie', and con-
sented to accompany him, the deceased at that
time having her infant in her arms. Tha two had
not proceeded far when fresh words took place be-
tween them, and the prisoner gave deceased a push,
and immediately afterwards he was seen by a man
name Thompson tout his left-hand on deceased's
right shoulder and strike her with hiS'right
The deceased exclaimed, " What are you about ?"
and pushed away ti,e prisoner, who fell into the
channel. They then parted, and the prisoner on
recovering himself rushed after the deceased and
struck her several times, and while she was in the
act of falling he put his left 'hand round her neck,
and with his right hand took from his side a large
knife, vcith which he inflicted a frightful wound on
her throat. A struggle ensued and both fell down;
the prisoner then knelt upon his wife, and again
proceeded to cut her throat. Upon this he was
*eized by two men, who found the deceased bleed-
ing and lifeless, and, while endeavouring to get'
away from them, the prisoner succeeded in Cutting
his own throat and fell on his back. The knife Was
found by his side covered with blood. These facts
being clearly established,
Mr. Fearnley addressed the jury for the prisoner,
urging in his defence the plea of insanity.
The Darned judge then went through the whole
case very carefully, and
The jury, after a short consultation, foUnd the
prisoner guilty.
His lordship, in passing sentence, said that, in
his opinion, there was no ground whatever for the
defence of insanity, and told the prisoner that he
could hold out no hope whatever for him.
Sentence of death was then passed in the usual
solemn form.

MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—NOTTINGHAM, 'DEC. 8.
(Before Mr. Justice Crompton.)
James Wright, 39, farmer, was indicted for the
wilful murder of Wiliam Holland, at Girton, on
the sth Sept. last.
Mr. Boden and Mr. Bristowe conducted the pro-
secution, and Mr. O'Brien defended the prisoner.
The circumstances of this remarkable case will•be
be 't gathered from the following statements of the
witnesses :
Joseph Holland, son of the late William Holland,
said his father lived at Girton. He was a carpenter.
In September last he was 49 years old. On the sth
of September last I went with him to a clover field
between 7 and 8 o'clock. It was about half a mile
from his house. The clover field was the prisoner's.
We took a fork each. We crossed the Gains.-
borough and Newark-road, and then went dlong
a footpath, and over a stile into tie next •
field. Then we left the footpath, and went
into a wheat stubble, and then my father went
into the prisoner's clover field. My father and
the prisoner had a dispute about this clover field.
My father went over a gap in the hedge. The
clover had b cut, and some was lying near the
gap. I heard somebody coming. It wss the pri-
soner. -He 'was coming over some rails into the
wheat stubble from the field where we had left the
footpath.. The...footpath led to North Searle, where
the prisoner lived. lie had a gun with him. He
c,me towards me as I was getting over the gap
into the clover field. When he got up to the gap
we were in the clover field. He sail, " Come out,
come out !" My father said, "We shan't." He
said that if we didn't come out I.e would blow our
heads off. My father said that he might sroot,
and also that he should take some clover, and then
went further into the field. Flo .then began t
gather some clover with a fork, and Wright acid,
"D— you ; I'llbe near enough on you !" He
ran to some rails, went over them, and to a gate
between the clover field and an adjoining field.
That gate was close to the clover which my father
was raking up. The prison' r came up to that gate.
He did not say anything. He put the gun to his
shoulder and pointed it on my father. He only did
it once then. But at the gap in the other field he
had put it to his shoulder several times. My father
was frightened, and came away from the clover
towards the gate. That was the nearest way out of
that field towards home. My father got up to the
gate and came through ir. The prisoner drew back
about five yards, and then said, " D-- it, I will
shoot you !" and he shot him. He held the gun
to his shoulder and pointed it to my father. It
was pointed a little downwards. When he was
shot my father said "0, Lord ! 0, Lord ! Jem, I
did not think you would have done this." Prisoner
said he had done what he meant to do. He said
also that if he could not have the laws of the
country he would have laws of his own. I then
helped my father towards home. The prisoner
followed us, and Hammond and Hind came up as
we were going home. Whe he was following us
the prisoner said more than once that he had done
what he meant to do. I went to Collingham fr the
nearest doctor while Hammond and. Hind assisted
my father home.. I did not see my father point the
fork at Wright.
Charles Charlton, policeman, about 2 o'clock on
Sunday morning, September 6, apprehended the
prisoner at his own house, and found there a double
barrelled gun, one of the barrels of which had been
recently discharged. The other barrel was loaded.
When I took the gun down Wright said, "That's
it." I took out the charge from the other barrel.
It is about a usual char,v.e..:
William Webster, policeman, went with last
witness, and told the prisoner he came to appre-
hend him on the charge of shooting Mr. Holland,
of Girton. He answered " I certainly did it, but I
did it in self-defence ; Holland ran at me with a
fork."
Mr. O'Brien addressed the jury for the prisoner,
and, with a view to reduce the offence to that of
manslaughter, commented upon the evidence that
there was of a quarrel going on between the pri-
soner and the deceased up to the moment of the
gun being fired, and suggested, as the most pro-
bable explanation of the transaction, that though
the prisoner had used some threatening expressions,
and wished to frighten the deceased from taking the
clover, he had no roil intention of shooting at him
until, as he supposed at least, the deceased was
about to attack.him with the fork.
The learned Judge having summed up the evi-
dence, the jury retired to consider their verdict,
and after remaining in consultation a short time
found the prisoner guilty of manslaughter.
The learned Judge, in passing sentence, said,
that the jury had taken a merciful view of the case,
and one which he did not disapprove, though he
should certainly not have felt dissatisfied. with a
verdict of murder. Indeed, in this case, so far as
moral guilt at all events was concerned, there was
the very slightest lino of distinction between the
prisoner's crime and that of murder ; and as ho
would have been left for execution if ho bad been
convicted of murder, so now the interests of justice
required.that he should be sentenced to penal ser-
vitude for lite.

YORK, DEC. 7.
(Before Mr. Justice Williams.).
MANSLAUGHTER ARISING FROM A RAILWAY COL-
LISION AT HULL.
George Tolson, 25, was charged with the man-
slaughter of John Yates, at Hull, on the 24th of
July last.
The_ prisoner was an engine-driver in the service
of the North-Eastern Railway Company, having
occupied that situation for upwards of two years
previous to the disaster. It was plainly shown on
the trial that he had not obeyed a signal, and
stopped his train, and that this was the cause of
the collision to which Mr. Yates owed his death.
For the defence it was urged that the prisoner
had conducted himself with regard to the signals
in a way which was the habitual custom of the
engine-drivers gen ergiy
and though the accident
bad happened, he could not be regarded as gull y
of such criminal negligence as would render him