The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-08 00:00:00

ING OC 'OBER ft 1857

the county of Chester, for 10 years. Rent for first four
years, 20'2/. ; and afterwards for the residue of the term
240/. payable 24th June.
[A mistake appears to have been made in the en-
dorsement, as the lease itself commences on the
25th of December, 1853.] When he talked about
getting his father into a madhouse I remonstrated
with him and said he must not try to do so, as his
father was perfectly sane and the surgeons could
soon ascertain it. During the same interview the
prisoner at different times called his father
" a blind old --." Since that time I have
never the prisoner and his father together. I
have seen them both separately, and they each com-
plained of the other. A few days after the lease
was left with me the prisoner called on mo and
said, " We can't put up with that old fellow ; I
have given him something that he'll mind. I have
had to tie his hands and feet." Thinking that the
old man had been hurt, I came over to Bramall the
next morning to sea him. I then saw marks of
, violence on the deceased's body. His two eyes were
very severely swollen and blackened. (Sensation.)
His upper lip was also swollen, as was likewise his
left jaw, which seemed to have been caused by a
kick. The skin was all off his left arm which he
b tred to show me. The shin bones of both legs were
back with bruises. Those were all the marks that
I saw. OnWednesday morning last after the murder
the prisoner called upon me in Manchester. He first
called between 9 and half-past 9 o'clock, but I had
not then arrived, and ho came again shortly before
11 o'clock. I had then heard of the murder. When
he came into the office he walked round the coun-
ter to the window where 1 was standing. He
was then accompanied by another young man,
named Matthison, and I asked them to be seated. I
said to the prisoner that I was sorry for the tran-
saction which had taken place ; and he replied that
it was a sad thing, or circumstance. I inquired if
his father was shot, and if so, where ? and, putting
his hand to his right cheek, he said " through
there." He was next asked whether his father Ivas
killed with a pistol or gun, and he answered " by
a gun." I then said, addressing the prisoner,
" Now, sir, rest assurred that the murderer will be
found out ; if man cannot, God will." I mentioned
the instances of Mrs. Manning and Rush, and said,
" Horrid murderers cannot escape," upon winch
he and the other young man got up and left. Pre-
vious to this, when the prisoner first came into the
office, I asked how the unfortunate occurrence
took place, and he then said, " About two o'clock
this morning I heard a noise in the house, and I took
out my gun, because on Monday my father had a
sale of cattle, and the auctioneer and other parties
said there were many rough characters about ; and
owing to the money that wasdtaken for the cattle
they might lay siege to the house at night. I
then loaded my gun, both barrels, but as no one
appeared that night, on Tuesday morning, observ-
ing a few small birds on a tree in the garden, I let
fly at thew, and brought down one. I then put
the gun by in the corner of my bedroom ; and on
the Wednesday morning, about 2 o'clock, I heard
a noise in the house, and got ont of bed, and took
my gun and went to my bedroom door. By a dark-
ish light from the window on the landing I observed
a man there six feet high ; and I immediately put
my gun to my shoulder, fired at him, and it struck
him here (pointing to the lower part of his right
cheek). When he got the shot he gave a great
jump and a loud screech. I then observed two men
go downstairs, with their feet muffled, and I called
to my brother Thomas, and told him there were
robbers in the house." He further said that he
knew the robbers had been in the cellar, because
they hail left the tap of the ale cask running. In
speaking of his going into his father's room, and
finding him killed, he said, "I shall not forget that
sight the longest d►y I live." The deceased called
at my office many times since March, and I had
always looked upon him as a clever man, and per-
fectly capable of managing any farm, if he had his
eyesight as he formerly had.
John Cooke—l am the land-agent of Lieut.-Col.
Davenport, of Bramall-hall. The deceased was one
of the colonel's tenants, under the terms mention-
ed in the lease produced. I saw him frequently
duriug his tenancy, and knew the prisoner very
well. I had a conversation with the prisoner re-
specting the farm. About 11 or 12 months ago I
received a letter from him, which I now produce.
It is in his handwriting, and is as follows:
" Hardy's Farm, Bramall, Saturday Evening.
" Mr. Cooke—Xy dear Sir, —1 shall feel extremely
obliged by your calling upon me on Mon lay evening
about 8 o'clock, as I wish a little private conversation with
you, coupled with a few small matters relative to the
farm. Existing circumstances prevent me calling upon
you as I should otherwise have done, and shall therefore
esteem your compliance as a favour.
" Hoping that it will produce no inconvenience to you,
believe me to be, yours truly,

":TAIIES HENDERSON, Jun."
I went and had an interview with the prisoner on
the Monday evening. H e commenced by saying
to
what he was going a stt,t e was a hard thing for a
son to say againstfather, and that he wished to
, have a little private conversation with me during
his father's absence
in
Scotland. He then said his
father's temper and dig •
position were so bad that
th 2y could not
live with him, and that through his
(the father's) stupidity he had had a lawsuit while
he was in Scutlau
whichhitand almost ruined him.lie also stated that his f
drunkard while he lived in Scotelran wasd ; and hedvey r
added,great
I do not kuuw whether you are aware that I
found the greater portion of the money to come
upon the farm, and I wish very much to have the
power for my brother acid self to manage and con-
duct the farm. I wish you to speak to Col. Daven-
port to knot," whether it; cannot be arranged that
I and my brother should have the farm instead of
my father, and I will sea that the rant is punctually
paid. if so, my father shall have a comfortable home
and walk about as he pleases, but I wish him not to
interfere, for I do not consider him fit for business,
his eyesight beiug bad, and he has on more than one
occasion paida sovereign instead of a shilling." The
prisoner then referred to the covenant in the lease
respecting the additional rent to ba paid after the
fist 4 years, and said, "My father will n3t pay the
additional rent because he does nut consider that
the farm will afford it, but I am sure it will if it is
properly managed, and if I can have the manage-
ineutof it I will see that it is paid." In answer to
what he said, I replied, " It is all very well, Mr.
James, but you know that your father is tenant,
and that unless he isagrceable nothing can be done."
I asked him if his brother and mother and sivers
were agreeable, supposing his father and Col. Da-
venport were ; ant he said, " They are perfectly
agreeable, and they wish it to be so." Since then he
has repeated the application at my own house ; I
think it was in March last. From my intercourse
with the deceased I considered him a man of visor-
ells intellect, and capable of masagino, his
affairs. He was a little stupid (obstinate) sometimesoli
v
but I never thought lie was ineapable of managing
his affairs. He called at my house on the Saturday
before his death.

This being the last. witness to be called for the
prosecu.ion Mr. R3berts obtained the permission
of the coroner to call a witness to prove the finding
of the brace.

C. H. Smith, son of one of the prisoner's em-
ployers—l came over to Bramall this morning with
my father, and I went with him to the deceased's
house. ire were looking about in the garderi.,, and
in the grass near a tree, opposite to the end of the
house, in which there is only one w.ndow, I found
the back part of the brace now produced. My fa-
ther picked up another piece of a brace (the front
p,.rt of one) al out four inches from the same spot.
There was a mark on one part of the brace which
looked like Wool. Not far off I saw an old pair of
trowsers, without braces, which were iu the same
state of dilapidation. There were also several
pieces of old cloth lying about. I afterwards poin, ed
out the place where I found the brace to Mr. An-
drews.

T. Smith—l am a cornfactor at Manchester. My
son handed to me. one piece of brace, and I picked
up the other piece.

By Mr. Roberts—The prisoner has been in the
employ of myself and my partner for three years
and a half or four years. Everything was satisfac•
tory during that time, and I considered him to hi
a good and honest man. I never saw him idle a mo-
m3nt while he was with me.
By the Coroner—The prisoner was rather parsi-
moniouJ.

Mr. Superintendent Andrews was recalled, and
he
stated that he had been shown the spot in the
garden where-the two pieces of brace were found.
He had several times before, on Wednesday, Thurs-
day, and Friday last, examined that spot, and it
was impossible that the pieces could have been
there without being seen. The grass had been care-
fully searched to find the wadding used by the pri-
soner when he shot the sparrow, and a piece of good
gun-wadding was found there. A pair of old trou,
sers and some pieces of rag were also there now
which were not there when the previous search was
made.
This completed the evidence, and at 10 minutes
to 8 o'clock the coroner begin to sum up. Ho de-
precated the comments which had been made by
the presq, a,tid urged the jury to dismiss from their
minds all except the sworn testimony which had
been given during the inquiry. The fact of the
murder was undoubted; bit., as to the way in which
it was committed there were two sugges ions. In
the first place it was suggested by the son James
that 3 or 4 burglars entered the house, broke open
the writingdesk, and-then proceeded to the old
man's room. The statistics of crime in this country
showed that the object of all burglars was plunder
and not murder, and they never desired to commit
bloodshed unless for the purpose of personal protsc-
tion or of securing booty. In this case it was sug-
gested that the burglars hadl broken open the desk,
but, considering its lightness, it was raor
e probable

that they would have taken it away aitogetl►er.
Under any circumstance 4, they would not have
taken the trouble to break open the lock when it
was actually unlocked. The murder of the old man
when asleep was most inconsistent with the suppo-
sition that it was the act of burglars. It was most
extraordinary that the table in which there was so
much money, as well as deceased's clothes, in which
there was a shilling, had not been touched. It did
not seem likely that burglars would have delibe-
rately committed an act which would at once have
alarmed the whole house, and still less likely was it
that a man would have stood on the stairs after the
report of the gun. The other suggestion, the very
mention of which almost made one shudder, was
that the old man had been murdered by his son
James. This involved a charge of such a serious
nature that he (the coroner) deemed it his duty to
read over the whole of the evidence relating to it.
This he did at great length, commenting upon it as
he proceeded.
Shortly after half-past 9 o'clock the jury retired
to consider their verdict, and they returned after
an absence of about half an hour. Their names
having been called over, the Foreman (Mr. Charles
Marsland) said, " Vie find James Henderson guilty
of the murder of his father."

The Coroner inquired if they were unanimous in
their verdict, and the foreman replied that they were.
The Coroner then issued his warrant for the com-
mittal of the prisoner, and the witnesses were bound
over to prosecute at the next Cheshire assizes.

The prisoner will he brought before the magis-
trates at Stockport to-morrow (Thursday). Although
o.:easionally during the inquiry yesterday he exhi-
bited some nervous twitchings about his mouth, he
did not display any other symptoms of emotion, not
even when the most damaging parts of the evidence
were being given against him. He listened atten-
tively to the statements of the whole of the wit-
nesses, but appeared little if at all excited.