The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-27 00:00:00

PRICE 4d.
STAMPED sd.

coercion and punishment and kindness were tried
to reclaim him, bat in vain. He was three times
guilty of theft, and on the last occasion he broke
open the school missionary-box and took out the
money, and for this offence he was summarily
expelled.
Mr. Ueedes inquired who the boy Wood was.
Mr. Wheeler said that he Was an illegitimate
child; that persons who were supposed to be his
parents lived in •the neighbourhood, but they did
not acknowledge him..
Mr. Justice Blackburn here interposed, and said
he thought the jury would hardly convict the
prisoner upon the evidence of such a witness as the
boy Wood, particularly when it was remembered
that the prisoner strongly charged him with being
the author of the crime, and he himself admitted
that he had on previous occasions .made • false
charges against others.
The jury immediately returned a verdict of Not
Guilty, and the prisoner was ordered immediately
to be discharged from custody.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.—STAFFORD, JULY 25,
CIVIL COURT.
(Before Mr. Justice Keating.)
Rachel Withenshaw, 24, potter, was charged
with attempting to murder her child, Elizabeth
Withenshaw, by casting it into a canal on the 15th
of May, 1861, at Wolstanton.
Mr. Motteram conducted the prosecution ; Mr.
Cook Evans,.at the request of tlitp, learned judge,
watched the case for the pttsaner: - -
It appeared from the evidence of a boatman named
John Davis, that A little after six o'clock on the
evening of the nth of May last he was with his
TIC aarneacla. s t lAe s uen na epl-
pboroaatcohnedthichTeremnotuanthdofMetrhseey
at Tunstall, in the parish of Wolstanton, he saw
the prisoner sitting on some steps on the bankside
of the canal with a baby in her arms. She got up
and went into the tunnel, but sha came back again
and looked about her, and when the witness with
his boat had entered the tunnel the girl had followed
tier some distance, and appeared to be doing some-
thing by the iron rail which separated the towing-
patCfrom the canal. When the boatman had got
about 300 yards into the tunnel he looked back to
the mouth orthe tunnel and saw the prisoner jump
into the canal. fie at once gave the alarm, stopped
his horse and ran to her assistance, and succeeded in
getting her out while his boy secured the baby. As
soon as she was taken out of the water the prisoner
cried out, a Oh, my baby !" but she became insen-
sible, and was not restored to consciousness for an
hour and a half. She was taken to an inns and when
she came to herself she asked after her baby, and it
was given fo her, and both of them were restored.
Tile boy who was with the boatman said that about
ten minutes after the prisoner was got out of the
water he found a bounet tied to the iron rail, and
another witness said he had seen a young .man loi-
tering about with the prisoner during the afternoon,
and that he had left her only a few minutes before
she plunged into the water. The prisoner bad a mise-
rable appearance, and the suggestion on the part of
the prosecution was thaf she had been abandoned, and
thrown herself and child into the water in a fit of
despair. When taken into custody the policeman
charged her with attempting to murder Elizabeth
Withenshaw, her daughter, and after wards attempt-
ing to commit suicide by jumping into the canal.
The prisoner then said two men were going into the
tunnel with .a boat, and one young man asked her to
go with him, and she said " No.' He then asked
her if that was her child, and she said it was. She
then added, " As to murdering my child, I never
intended to do that. I accidentally slipped into the
water."

Mr. Cook Evans, for the prisoner, said there was
nothing in the evidence to show that she had any
motive for destroying her child, and he thouglit
that that suggestion was negatived by the fact,
that her first thought when taken out of the
water and restored to consciousness was to call for
her baby. He contended that the account given
by the prisoner herself was the most likely one—
viz., that she had accidentally slipped into the
water; and he appealed to the jury not to convict
the prisoner in a capital case, when her guilt was
left in doubt.

Mr. Justice Keating summed up the evidence to
the jury, and left it to them to say whether or not
the prisoner had thrown herself and child into the
water, or, as she herself had said, had slipped in.
His lordship concluded by reminding the jury that
they ought to discharge their duty, however pain-
ful it might be ; and that, if they were satisfied
that the prisoner threw the child into the water
with the intent charged, they ought to find her
guilty. '
After considering their verdict for some time, the
jury wished the policeman to be recalled and ex-
amined as to the state of the towing-path. This
was done, and he said it had a coping of stones on
the side next the canal, and was protected by an
iron rail resting on supports at intervals.
The jury thereupon found the prisoner guilty,
with a strong recommendation to mercy.
Mr. Justice Keating said the recommendation of
the jury should certainly be attended to, and de-
ferred passing sentence till the close of the criminal
business, when, after addressing the prisoner in
feeling terms on the offence which she had commit-
ted, his lordship sentenced her to six months' im-
prisonment with hard labour.
Having disposed of all the criminal business, Mr.
Justice Keating proceeded this day to assist in the
trial of the remaining common jury causes.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE-July 26.

GUILDHALL.--George Elverson, aged about
60, charged on Tuesday with committing a rape on
the person of Emily Clancy, who described herself
as a widow, 56 years of age,' was brought up on
bail before Colonel Wilson for final examination.
Mr. Buchanan appeared for the defence.
The evidence of Mrs. Clancy on the former occa-
sion was to the effect that a gentleman named Batt
asked her to get him a fancy dog. She applied to
the prisoner to ascertain if he could supply her
with one. She said that as soon as she entered
his room he locked the door, and effected his
purpose, although she struggled with him about
pletely drowned by the barking of a little dog.
la.aiqseudarate of an
an alarm,
alarm,hobtruit.
thSahte
haelrso
esrtiaetsedwetrheat seomhe.
The prisoner, in answer to the charge, said he
had two dogs in the room, and that they were
perfectly quiet on the occasion referred to. The
prisoner came to borrow money of him, he hav-
eddnntbelsyednaamyan,r.wwßhhueoenhiantnshaternuacpstreoadrewher.et-r_
ing known her- and her husband many years ago.
adjourned
auvi idiat
On his refusing to lend it she went away. At
this stage of the case the further hearing was
trix underwent a rigid cross-examination, which
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prisoner iwksaashaegahiand
remanded
ddteod
sitlhcaeWllgee
bring
cufotrriwx

Mr. Charles Batt said—l am a brushmaker at
11, New-street, Dorset-square, Regent's-park. I
have known the prosecutrix for some years, hav-
ing employed her and her husband to make
gloves for me. I never authorised her to procure
a dog for me. I have never mentioned such a
subject to her.

Mrs. Clancy was then recalled and cross-exa-
mined. She said—l know a Mr. Berry, an oilman,
of St. John's-street, Clerkenwell. When I went
into his shop once he wanted to take liberties
with me. I told his wife. She offered me any-
thing in the shop to induce me to forgive him,
and she put 10s. into my hand. I said I did not
want the money, but I took it. I applied to a
clergyman of the Church of England when my
son was in trouble, but I did not make any cri-
minal charge against him. I never represented
that he had attempted to take liberties with me.
I do not know a person of the name of Blachford.
Colonel Wilson—l think I have heard quite
enough.
Mr. Baker, the ward beadle, said he had known
the prisoner for about 20 year.:, and had alwas con-
sidered him a respectable man.
Mr. Buchanan said he bad known him for the
last 30 years, and beAeved him incapable of such
conduct.

Colonel Wilson—l think this is one of the worst
cases I ever met with in the whole of my experi-
ence during a period of thirty years as a magistrate,
The manner in which the prosecutrix described the
offence she alleged to have been committed led me
to suspect that her story was untrue. She said
the prisoner was pulling her about for three quar-
ters of an hour in, the room where he accomplished
his purpose; that it was a front room looking ent
upon the street; and that her screams were not
hearctby the other occupants of the house or by the
neighbours, in consequence of a little dog's barking.
But any one with common sense can perceive the
inconsistency of her evidence and the impossibility
of such a crime being perpetrated in the way she
has stated. (To the prosecutrix)—l never met with
so gross, so abandoned, or so wicked a case, and the
person charged with such a serious offence will not
' be doing his duty to himself or to the public if he