The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-25 00:00:00

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER.

Harriet Hariis, 27, married, was indicted for wilfully
causing the death of her infant child, Mary Harris, through
neglect and starvation.
Mr. Giffard prosecuted, and Mr. Ribton defended the

prisoner.
The following witnesses were examined to prove the case :
Mrs. Jones—l live at 48, Bedfordbury. The prisoner
and her husband resided in the house. I have known the
mother take the child out very frequently. It was a very
little baby about nine weeks old. I recollect shortly before
the child's death the mother took it out. She returned
home drunk with the child in her arms. This she
had done frequently. She was not always in a
state to take care of the baby. Mr. Harris, the
husband, did not come home the clay the child died. I at-
tended to it. I don't know where she went to; she came
home quite drunk. The child appeared to have been a
very healthy, not delicate, child, and when I attended to
it I gave it all the nourishment I could think of.

Cross-examined by Mr. Ribton--The prisoner had two
other children beside the one that died. I have children
of my awn. I know the child was seen by Dr. Harvey
before it died. I know that beer, wine, and brandy are
sometimes ordered in cases where women have lately
recovered from their confinement. I have seen the
prisoner feeding the child. I don't think the hus-
band had been at home for a week before the
child died. The prisoner went out to look for the husband
while the child was ill. It was alive when she left her
home, but it was dead when she returned, I heard the

prisoner say, the week the child died, that she had taken it
to Dr. Harvey. I know she complained of her husband's
conduct.

By ➢lr. Giffard—The prisoner was seldom sober between
the birth and death of the child.

Mary Ann Ricketts, of 24, Bedfordbury—l have known
the child left in the prisoner's apartment from nine in the
morning until four in the afternoon a very short time be-
fore it died. The only persons left in the room were her
two other young children. I have known the children take
the baby down to Mrs. Jones to give it something. I have
often seen the prisoner return after she had been absent ;
she was intoxicated on many occasioni.
Mr. Louis Hart said—l have known the prisoner for the
six months she has lived in my house, and during that
time I have scarcely ever seen her once sober.
By Mr. Ribton—l am the landlady of the house in Bed.
fordbury in which the prisoner resided. I live in Bear-
street, Leicester-square. I don't know that any complaints
have ever been made against my house in Bear-street. The
person who resided in the shop in Bedfordbury was a tenant
of mine, and received the rent for me. I have often had to
go to the prisoner's husband for the rent.

Mr. Ribton—Why, I thought you said the shopman re-
ceived the rent of the prisoner.

Witness—So he used, when he could get it.
Mr. Ribton—Then the husband used sometimes not to
pay you your rent ?

- Witness—Yes, but the prisoner had had it, and spent it,
and that's the reason I did not get it.

Mr. Ribton—l only want an answer.• I don't want your
reasons. I only want what you know for certain.

Witness—Well, I do know she spent the money.
Mr. Ribton then put a number of questions to the wit-
ness touching the marine-store business he carried on, and
retharked that he had varied somewhat in his replies. To
which the witness replied,—Well, I want to answer every-
thing in a straightforward manner, but, upon my word,
you ask me so many questions that I don't know what I
have said—(laughter)—you go about it in such a round
about way that I don't think any person could recollect
every answer he had given. (Laughter.)
Mr. Leonard, of 2, Salisbury-street, Sti and, said—l am
a surgeon. I saw the child after its death. The body of
the child was so wasted that its leg was not thicker than
my finger, and the whole weight of the body was not 31bs
and a half. I have made a post mortem e;amination: I
could find no disease that would account for its death.
Want of nourishment would account for its death.

Mr. Alfred Harvey, surgeon, said, I saw the child both
before and after death. The proximate cause of death was
inanition or wasting away. After the post mortem I arrived
at the conclusion that the child died for the want of suf-
ficient nourishment.

By Mr. Ribton—The post mortem proved that the child
had not died of any disease.

The Learned Judge summed up the evidence,
The jury, after a few minutes' consideration, acquitted
the prisoner.

The prisoner, who had evinced great contrition and dis-
tress of mind during the trial, was then ordered to be
discharged.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—( This Day.)

MARLBOROUGH-STREET.

ROBBERY AT THE DUKE Or DEyoNSTLIRE'S.—John
Willis, stableman, in the service of the Duke of Devonshire,
Devonshire House, Piccadilly, and John Goss Lyons, an
old man, described as a labourer, were charged with steal-
ing some harness, the property of the Duke of Devonshire.
Henry Sutton, porter at Devonshire House, said the harness
produced was the property of the Duke of Devonshire, and
the prisoner Willis had the care of the stables in town all
the year round. He (witness) had last seen the har'ness
rope in the stables in June. Since the prisoners had been
in custody he had searched the stables and missed it.
Kelly, 53 C; said about six yesterday evening he went to
Mr. Attenborough's. in Piccadilly, and found the two pri-
soners there. He asked Willis where he got the harness
from, and he said it belonged to the Duke of Devonshire.
On asking whether he was authorised to pledge it he said
he was not, but as he was only paid once a month, and had
a sister in Shropshire who was dying, he had done so in-
tending to redeem it when he was paid, but that he had no
felonious intention. Lyons told him that he was engaged
to carry the harness by 'Willis.

Phillip Barnes, manager to Mr. Attenborough, pawn-
broker, of Piccadilly, said the prisoner Lyons brought the
harness in the previous evening, and on his asking him if
it was his, he said " No, but to a person living at the Duke
of Devonshire's, and that it belonged to the person."
Seeing a coronet on the harness, and being under the im-
pression that there vi as something wrong about it, he told
Lyons to go and fetch the person, and he did so, and he
then sent for the officer.

Mr. Tyrwhitt said there was no case against Lyons, and
he should discharge him, but he should commit Willis for
trial.

THAMES.

ATROCIOUS ASSAULT ON A GlRL—Alexander Lawrence,
a Scotchman, was brought before Mr. Woolrych charged
with assaulting Margaret Sweeney, a girl aged 13 years.
A gentleman from the office of Messrs. Shaen and Rose e,
solicitors to the " Associate Institution for Improving and
Enforcing the Laws for the Protection of Women," ap-
peared for the prosecution, and said the girl, who had sue-
cessfully resisted the attempts made upon her virtue, was
poor and friendless.

The complainant said she was servant to Mrs. Curley, a
lodging house keeper in Queen's-head-alley, Wapping.
The prisoner was a sailor, lately paid off, and had been
lodging in the house for five days only. Last night between
nine and ten o'clock she was wiping a table when the pri-
soner suddenly came behind her, seized her round the waist,
threw her violently upon the fbor, and raised her clothes.
She screamed aloud, and a woman came into the room and
rescued her.

In answer to a question by Mr. Woolrych, the witness
said the prisoner did nothing more to her than she had
stated. His clothes were unfasten id.

Mrs. Ann M'Kew, a respectable married woman, said she
was about to fetch her supper beer last night, and had just
left her house when she heard loud screams and cries of
" Save me." She rushed into Mrs. Curley's house, and saw
the girl Sweeney on the floor, and the prisoner near her.
She told the prisoner he ought to be ashamed of himself.
He said he was very sorry; it was the drink made him act
as he had done.

Inspector Beadle, of the Thames Police, said he took the
prisoner into custody, and he expressed his regret for what
he had done. The prisoner was not sober, and he ascer-
tained that he had been drinking all yesterday afternoon.
Mr. Woolrych was of opinion there was nothing to show
the prisoner intended to commit a rape, which was the
charge against him; but he had committed a most im-
proper, unjustifiable, and brutal assault on the girl, for
which he fined him D.

THIS DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

The arrivals of English wheat fresh up to this morning's
market wero very moderate, yet the demand for bath red
and white qualities ruled inactive, at Monday's decline in
the quotations of is to 2s per quarter.
The show of foreign wheat was by no moans extensive.
All descriptions, however, moved off heavily, on former
terms.

In floating cargoes of grain rather a limited business was
transacted, at about previous currencies.
The trade for barley was dull, and prices had a downward
tendency.

Malt was a slow sale, at previous currencies.
Fine oats sold steadily, at full quotations ; but medium
and low parcels were a dull inquiry, at barely late rates.
Beans and peas were in steady request, at full prices.
The flour trade was steady, and the quotations were sup-
ported.