The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-17 00:00:00

her child. I promised to see Miss Hooper, and he
asked me if I would bring her there, or he would
come to see her at my house. I saw Miss Hooper,
and she was very willing to go back to Clopton for
the sake of her children. I arranged to go with her
to Clopton Hall in the beginning of August. We
arrived at the Hall about 7in the evening. Miss
Hooper rang the bell and asked if Mr. Warde was
in. The servant girl replied that he had gone to bed.
Miss Hooper then sent in her name, and in two
minutes Mr. Warde made his appearance. I was
standing on the gravel outside,
And Miss Hooperwas just inside the door. Mr. Aiirtwle said to her
"What do you want here ?" She said, "I want to
see my children." He passed her, ana said to
me, " \Vhat the do you come here again lor ?"
and he struck me with his fist a violent blow upon
the chest. If I had not moved back a short distance
down 1 must have gone. He said if that were not
enough for me he would lay a stick about my back.
I became very sick, and spat blood very soon after.
I went away without saying a word, and I was
obliged to lean on the gate outside for some time
time until Miss Hooper came out and assisted me to
the hotel. I have been confined to the house more
or less ever since, and I have been taking medicine
ever since.
Cross-examined—l am a small fanner. I never
went by the name of Jenkins. I was at Stratford as
long ago as February last, inquiring for Miss
Hooper's address. I wrote to Mr. Warde for her
address, asking for an answer to be sent to the
Gloucester post-office, and I signed the name of
Jenkins. A lad named Williams was examined on
the former trial, and I knew if I signed that name
that Mr. Warde would not give an answer. I got
an answer to say that he believed she was at Mr.
Porter's, a shoemaker, at Ealing. I told Mr.
Ward() I had been to Ealing, and that she had
removed and had taken a public-house between
Watford and Uxbridge, and there I found her.
I told him some other person had instigated
the proceedings against him. He did not say
those proceedings had cost him £1,200, and he
would not see Miss Islooper again until he had been
repaid that sum. I did not say I sympathised with
him for being struck off the list of magistrates. I
did not say the lad Williams had since told a great
deal more than he said in court, I am not a married
man. I fetched Miss Hooper to my house, and she
has been living there ever since. I:received this
letter :

" 3(1 May, 1861.

" Mr. Warde hears from a person of the name o
Williams that Miss Hooper wants to give up the
name of the party who has caused the mischief be-
tween him and herself. This she herself promised
fifty times to do, and until this is done and £1,200
paid for her late action is restored to Mr. Warde,
he declines all correspondence and interviews. The
children quite well."
In front of Mr. Wardc's door there was an
orangery, and it was just outside the door of this
that Mr. Warde met me. Ido not know bow long
it was before Miss Hooper came out, whether it was
an hour or two. My medical man, Mr. Graves, is
not here.
Re-examined--I have subpoenaed him, and tele-
graphic messages have been sent for him.
Miss Anna Maria Hooper—l am unfortunately
acquainted with Mr. Warde, and I also know Mr.
Williams. I have three children living with Mr.
Warde, and I asked Mr. -Williams to go with me to
get an interview with my children, because I
thought it was not safe to go by myself. Mr. Warde
struck Mr. -Williams a blow on the chest ; and when
I saw Mr. Williams again outside he was violently
sick and complained of his chest. I saw him spit
blood frequently. He had not been ill before he
went to Clopton. He was attended by Mr. Graves,
a medical man at Gloucester. Ho had medicines
and laudanum fomentations.
Cross-examined—Reconciliation has never taken
place between Mr. Warde and me. I did go to Mr.
Warde's alone on the following day, and staid there
from 12 to seven. I have not lat en since.
Matilda Hemwood (a servant of Mr. Williams)—
He was in perfect health before he went to Clopton,
but after he came back ho was sick and ill. I have
prepared fomentations of laudanum and water for
two or three mouths for him. Mr. Graves has at-
tended him down to the present time.
James Holder—l am in the service of the plaintiff,
who was in a very good state of health before he
went to Clopton. Since then he has been very bad
with pains in the chest. I have fetched his medicine.
Dr. Meredith—Three or four days ago I saw Mr.
Williams, and found him labouring under a nervous
disposition, which might have been caused by a
blow on the chest. He was unable to write on ac
count of trembling, apparently from nervousness. I
could detect no physical signs of a blow, but what I
saw might have been caused by a blow.
Mr. Alfred Haines said that ho had caused Mr.
Graves to be subpoenaed, and had done everything
he could to secure his attendance.
Mr, Kerslake, in opening the defendant's case,
complained that circumstances had been imported
into the case which hinliu truth nt/thin/5 tv ao with
it, and stated that Mr. Warde's account of the
matter was, that he gave Mr. Williams clearly to
understand that he would not be reconciled to Miss
Hooper until the name of the party who had insti-
gated her to take proceedings against him were
given up, and until he had been paid £1,200, the
expense to which he had been put by the proceed-
ings. According to his letter he declined all fur-
ther correspondence or interviews until this was
done, and therefore when the plaintiff went to
Clopton Hall on the occasion in question he went
as a trespasser. He asserted that the statement
that when the plaintiff went to Clopton Hall he was
in perfect health was untrue, and this was shown by
a paragraph in the letter of the plaintiff's attorney,
claiming compensation, in which he said, " He was,
at the time of the assault, in a very weakly condi-
tion, and just recovering from a previous illness of
some duration," Mr. Warde would be called as a
witness, and he would state that all ho did was
this. Not choosing to have Mr. Williams there
accompanying Miss Hooper, he placed his hand upon
his breast and told him to go, and he went. This
was all that was done.
At this stage of the proceedings the further hear-
ing was postponed.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.
MIDLAND CIRCUIT.—WARWICK, DEC. 16
(Before Mr. Justice Willes.)
MURDERS AT BIRMINGHAM.
John Thomson, 42, wire-drawer, was indicted for
murdering Ann Walker, at Birmingham, on the
29th of September last.
Mr. bpooner and Mr.. Palmer were for the prose-
cution ; Mr. O'Brien defended the prisoner.
The prisoner had cohabited with the deceased for
about three months before the murder. On the day
in question the two came together from Sutton in
order to visit the fair, and having delayed until it
was too late to return, they went to No. 8, in
Tanter-street, which is kept by a woman named
Beresford, and is inhabited by several prostitutes,
and there got a bed. Next morning they had
breakfast in the house at about eleven o'clock, and
about noon they went out together. The woman
returned by herself at three o'clock, and was at
that time visibly the worse for liquor ; indeed, so
marked was her intoxication that she had been
hustltd in the street in consequence. She asked
permission to go upstairs and lie down on a bed for
a few ;minutes, and this being granted she imme-
diately went up. Soon afterwards Thomson came
in, and went upstairs to her. It should be stated
that while out Mrs. Walker had mot in the street a
man with whom she had formerly cohabited, and
that he threatened to ill-use her, and thus gathered
a crowd around them. Thomson and Walker had
not been long together upstairs before the women
who were down below heard a noise of quar-
reling, and Beresford, the keeper of the
house, went up and found that Mrs. Walker had
knocked her arm against the wall in some way, and
that Thomson was rubbing it. She heard him say.
" Will you go home to Sutton now ?" to which Mrs.
Walker replied, "No, I will not." Seeing that the
two were moderately quiet, Beresford went down-
stairs, but no sooner had she sat down again than
she heard a stifled scream. A young woman named
Elizabeth Green, an unfortunate, living in the house,
went this time, and was horrified by seeing Thom-
son, who was then leaning over Mrs. Walker on the
bed, stab the unfortunate woman in the neck With
an open pocket-knife, and then drag her off the bed.
Green ran downstairs screaming violently, while
Beresford ran up and saw Thomson, who seemed to
be quite cool:deliberately cutting the throat of his
miserable mistress as she lay on the floor. When
apprehended the
.prisoner said it was all through
drink.
Mr. O'Brien contended that there was no evidence
of premeditation on the part of the prisoner, and
that the jury would not be justified in bringing in a
verdict of guilty of murder.
The judge said he could not see how cutting a
woman's throat could be made manslaughter.
The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder.
His lordship then passed upon the prisoner sen-
tence of death, telling him there was not the
slightest hope of a mitigation of punishment.
John Grayson Farquhar, 38, was indicted for
feloniously, wilfully, and of malice aforethought,
shooting Elizabeth Brookes, 'at Small Heath, near
Birmingham, on the 29th of August last, being
charged with her wilful murder, on warrants of the
borough coroner and the stipendiary magistrate of
that boroUgh. • -
Mr. Adams and Mr. Palmer prosecuted ; Mr.
Macaulay, Q.C., and Mr. O'Brien defended.
The prisoner lived in a retired manner at Small
Heath, near Birmingham, on an income of about