The Sun.
London, England, 1859-12-10 00:00:00

Joseph Briggs, 27, William Shaw, 23, George
Chappell, 21, Samuel Earnshaw, 23, Charles Cook-
son, 20, and John Marsden,.23, were charged with
a felonious assault upon Sarah 'Ann Burrow, at
Halifax, on the 6th ult.
Mr. _Foster and the Hon. F. S. Wortley were for
the prosecution ; Mr. Maule defended Marsden ;
Mr. Price "appeared for all the other prisoners.
Mr. Foster said the charge against the six pri-
soners was attended with unexampled violence and
cruelty. The young woman upon whom the offence
was committed was respectably connected, was 22
years of age, and at the time of the occurrence in
question was residing with her uncle at Halifax, as
his housekeeper. The prosecutrix had a cousin,
Martha Ann Burrow, who also resided at Halifax,
and a young man named Allan Tweedale was court-
ing her, and he invites' her and the prosecutrix on
the sth of November to visit his sister atßrighouse
on the following day. There being no train on the
Sunday afternoon from Halifax to Brighouse, it
was arranged that they should walk, and Tweedale
agreed to meet them on the road. The prosecutrix
and Martha Ann Burrow left Halifax between four
and five o'clock in tho afternoon of Sunday, the 6th
ult., and proceeded forward in the direction of
Brighouse, but Tweedale did not join them en the
roadas they expected .They went to the house
where the sister of Tweedale resided, and, as the
young woman was not then at home, they proceeded
direct to the railway station at Brighouse, intending
to return to Halifax by the train which left Brig-
house at seven o'cleck at night. The prosecutrix and
her cousin entered the waiting-room, when Allan
Tweedale joined them, and he persuaded them not
to travel by the train, but to accompany him to the.
station hotel, and there partake of some refresh-
ment. They remained conversing with Tweedale
till about nine o'clock, and then went to the station,
but found that the train was gone, and that it
would be necessary to walk home to Halifax. The
weather was then unfavourable, and they returned
to the hotel for a short time. A young man named
Joseph Wood, who resided in that neighbourhood,
entered the room and joined the party. It was pro-
posed that they should start for Halifax, and on
quitting the hotel Tweedale walked with Martha
Ann Burrow, and Wood accompanied the prosecu-
trix. Almost immediately adjoining the station at
Brighouse there is an archway over which the rail-
way passes, and under this archway they had to
pass. Near to this place there were standing a
party of eight or nine men, whom they passed, and
after they, had proceeded a short way Martha Ann
Burrow discovered that she had left her veil at
the hotel, and she returned for it. In pass-
ing through the archway she had again to
walk. past the men, amongst the party being
the prisoners at the bar. Briggs struck her lightly
on the back, when she turned round to him and
said that he was an ill-behaved person, and then
walked on, overtaking the prosecutrix, and Wood
and Tweedale; having arrived at the outskirts of
Brighouse, they proceeded along a footpath across
some fields, and this footpath is continued for a
distance of some three hundred yards between two
high walls ; at this place two men came up, one of
whom was Briggs, and he seized Allan by the collar,
upon which Tweedale turned round and pushed him
off. The other man in company with Briggs was
the prisoner Shaw. Ii a few moments after this
occurrence the prosecutrix :was seized round the
waist by Chappell, and other two of the prisoners
also got hold of her, used her most roughly, and
took improper liberties with her. With a deter-
' mined effort the prosecutrix succeeded in releasing
herself from the grasp of Chappell and his two
brutal companions. She proceeded along the nar-
row enclosed footpath between the walls, when she
heard her cousin screaming violently. Three of the
party had also seized Martha Ann Burrow, but she
herself ran along the footpath to a farmhouse two
hundred yards off, where a person Pitchforth re•
sided, in order to obtain assistance, and she was
followed by Tweedale. The prosecutrix was sur-
rounded by the prisoners, who dragged her along
the field, and whilst she was held down by four of
them Briggs and Shaw obtained possession of her
person. The poor girl struggled and resisted as far
as she.could, until she was out of breath, and at
length she became insensible. After the outrage
had been committed, the prosecutrix was assisted to
the house of a Mr. Stott, whose wife behaved most
kindly to her. her bonnet was destroyed, her
dress was torn and muddy and drenched with wet,
and she was crying in so distressed a state as to
be almost unable to make herself understood re-
lative to the wrong which she had suffered.
Mrs. Stott provided the prosecutrix with a bed
for the night, and she remained under Mrs.
Stott's roof until the following morning. The
identity of the whole of the prisoners was spoken
to by the witnesses, the prosecutrix, the young men
Tweedale and Wood, and Martha and Burrow,
swearing to them as being the men engaged in the
outrage.
The prosecutrix, a good looking and sycll•dressed
young woman, was then examined. She was in great
distress, and gave her evidence with some difficulty.
Her testimony was clear and satisfactory, and was
not shaken in cross•examination.
Martha Ann Burrow, in her evidence, gave a
detailed account of all she saw on the night in
question, and she corroborated her cousin in several
important particulars.
Tweedale, in his cross-examination, was asked
why he did not interfere and endeavour to prevent
the outrage being perpetrated, and, in reply, he
said he was afraid of being attacked by the pri-
soners.
-Wood, in cross-examination, admitted that he
was in liquor at the time.
All the prisoners were found guilty.
Briggs was sentenced to twenty-five years', the
other prisoners each to twenty years' penal servi-
tude.

NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE, DEC. 8.
(Before Mr. Baron Martin.)
Thomas Mills was indicted for the wilful murder
of Rebecca Mills, on the 18th of October last.
The Hon. A. Liddell and Mr. F. Ileadlam prose-
cuted ; Mr. Davison and Mr. Bruce defended.
It appeared that the prisoner and his wife on the
18th of October last had been to Acomb, celebrating
the event of gutting the first timbers on the roof of
a eottage which the prisoner was at that time build-
ing. It was shown by the evidence in the case that
the prisoner and his wife came to a public-house
kept by a person called Ridley about ten o'clock on
that evening ; both were at that time intoxicated ;
they remained here until nearly 11, nothing having
transpired beyond a few words occasioned by the
prisoner objecting to his wife smokini, a pipe and
having more drink. They then left, and proceeded
homewards by a by-road, accompanied by a man
named Rutherford, who had left Ridley's public-
house with them. The wife appears to have used
abusive language to he husband while the three
proceeded on their road linked arm in arm, the pri-
soner being in the centre; she also lost hold of her
husband's arm, and staggered across the road to the
wall. On her return it was shown that her husband
struck at her and she fell. The blow was repeated,
and with the same effect. Rutherford at that time,
hearinr, what he supposed to be the steps of persons
approaching, went in search of assistance. lie re-
turned, however, without any, and found the ,de-
ceased lying on the ground near the Wall on her
right side, and the prisoner striking and kicking
her. After this Rutherford made every effort to
pacify the prisoner and asked him and the deceased
to go with him to Acomb Colliery, which was near
this spot, where he was an engineman, to pass the
night. The prisoner appeared to have agreed to this
but his wife turned towards Ridley's. The prisoner
followed his wife, and seems again to have assaulted
her. Upon this Rutherford returned to Ridley's
public-house, and procured the assistance of two
men named .Neaje and Hall. They all then re-
turned to the spot where the prisoner and his wife
had been left (a distance of about 200 yards),
and found* the deceased lying on the ground, the
prisoner sitting astride her body, beating her neck
and head with both his hands. They were sepa-
rated, and in the course of separation the prisoner
twice fell on the road.) &They appear then to have
placed the cloak or shawl of the deceased over her,
and she having said, "Hush, I'm not much, worse;
he does not know where lam now," they left her
lying on one' side of the road and the prisoner on
tile other. On their return to Ridley's they met a
girl named Herdman. She, it appeared, after they
pasSed fier, heard other screams, and 'proceeded' in;
a direction towards the prisoner and his wife, and
then observed, both being on their
,feet, that the
prisoner:
struck his wife on the back, and then
kicked lier;Upou which she again
spoke to an expressibn lased by the prisonee to his
wife at the time, " You you have often pro-
voked nee, but this shall be the last time." Herd
roan; being frightened, immediately returned to
Acomb, the prisoner following her, and 10 minutes
atter tho occurrences she' had witnessed the pri-
soner and his wife, accompanied by two policemen,
passed the door of her master's house. These police-
men, it appeared, had heard the screams at about a
tThey asked e
of
distance of half a mile, and on proceeding to the
wasr cethetieliy mnignat:tfi
t
spot whence they appeared to come found the de-
ceased in
her
re s
thoroad.ewmadeai,towards
h n oe
village complaint,sdher
awhat
the prisoner met them, upon which the deceased
said, " Here, t The p
he police arc taking me." Acomb and
o i
proceeding i
prisoner