The Sun.
London, England, 1859-11-18 00:00:00

BRUTAL ASSAULT NEAR HALIFAX.

The particulars of a dreadful outrage committed
upon two women near Halifax by a number of ruf-
fians—for they can scarcely be called by any other
name—appeared in The S'un of Wednesday last.
On that day the case was investigated by a bench
of West Riding magistrates at Halifax, when seven
men were arraigned for the offence. The evidence
fully bore out the statement previously given, but,
only one of the young women, Sarah Ann Burrow,
who had been much the worst used, was made a
prosecutrix, the other (her cousin, Martha Ann
Burrow) being made a witness. The prisoners were
Joseph Briggs and Wm. Shaw, labourers ; Samuel
Earnshaw, miner; George Chappell, mason;
Stott, moulder; Charles Cookson, mason ;and John
Marsden, boatman. Mr. Adam C. Foster was the
solicitor for the prosecution ; and Mr. J. H. Mit-
chell for Earnshaw, Chappell, Stott, Cookson, and
Marsden ; Briggs and Shaw were undefended. The
first witness examined was the prosecute ix,SarahAun
Burrow. She was very pale, weak, and distressed ;
three or four times she became too faint to proceed
with her evidence until some delay had taken place,
and throughout was attended by Mr. Jones, sur-
geon. She said—l live ht Lee-bank, and am house-
keeper to my uncle, James Smith, presser with Mr.
Kirk, and am 22 years of age. On Sunday, Nov. 6,
I went with my cousin Martha to Brighouse, and at
night, being too late for the train to Halifax, we
determined to walk home—myself, my cousin, her
sweetheart Tweedale, and his friend, Joe Wood.
Wood lived at Elland-edge, and we agreed to go
that way. It rained heavily, and we therefore stayed
a short'time at the Railway Hotel. We set off about
10 o'clock, but returned after going a short distance
for a veil left by Martha. We set off again, and got
past some houses, when we • were molested by the
prisoner Briggs. Some distance further on Briggs
and some others came to us again, and lie caught
Tweedale by the collar. We got away then, but
had not gone far before a good many men came up
and seized me, and three or four got hold of Martha,
who was a little further on. Chappell was the one
who seized me first, but they were all at me, except
those who were at my cousin. They put me against
the wall, perpetrated! some indecencies, punishing
me eruelly. I got free by the help of 'Wood, and
then went to release my cousin, who was screaming
in a corner of the field. Cookson had hold of her.
I cannot swear to the others. When I got her free
she ran away. I tried to follow, but was prevented
by the men. They threw me down, and three or
fur held me. Cookson was one of them. lam not
sure about the rest. While I was held down Briggs
and Shaw committed the offence charged. lam
quite sure about the men. All the while I was
screaming, but became unconscious, and do not re-
member anything more until I found myself lifted
up, and Briggs and Shaw had hold of me. Briggs
asked me to go and sleep with him, and I said, "No,
I could not think of such a thing." He said some-
thing about seeing me home, and I said I would go
with him and Shaw if they would send the other
men away. They told the other men to go after the
little girl who had run away. When we had gone
along a bit we met a young man called Thomas
Smithies, and, as I thought he was one of the lot, I
said, " You have used me shamefully." He said he
had seen and heard a good deal, but durst not in-
terfere. He told Briggs and Shaw they ought to be
ashamed of themselves, and asked if they had no
relations of their own, that they could treat a poor
girl that way. I begged of Smithies not to leave
me, and got hold of his arm ; Shaw pushed him
away, and then the two tried to pull me down
some steps into the wood. Smithies whispered to
me that he would go for assistance, and went away.
The two men then again tried to pull me down the
steps, but I resisted. Briggs attempted to do as he
had done before. Wood and Smithies came up,
and I took hold of Wood while Smithies remon-
strated with the men. They endeavoured to drag
me from Wood ; then we came to a smithy, and
the men stopped there while I ran on to a cottage
near, and reniuined until morning. On cross-exa-
mina, by Mr. Mitchell, she said—l can only
swear to neigts.,
Chappell, Shaw, and Cookson.
The Whole affair eontinue-L from an hour to an hour
and a-half. f had here t seen ati—
of them before,
that I know Of. I deliberately `isivear
Pell and Cookson were of the party I
iliaat4
OC, h:1)-
opportunity oi seeitig their features: To the rest I
cannot speak. Martha Ann ljurro* *as the next
tVitnese examined, and she, after speaking in full
Confirmation of the circumstances connected ith
the €dmpany being at Brighouse, said that when
she turned back for het veil she saw a number of
men under the railway arch. Briggs was one o'
them, and he struck her on the back, and she ca le I
him a " low-lived villain." She proceeded to spe ik
of the attacks of the men, and how indecently anl
infamously she herself was treated by them. Cook-
son, Earnshaw, and Chappell she could positively
swear to ' of the rest of the prisoners she was not
certain, When she gotrelca,ed, and before 'die had
?1\l" her cousin dragged to the
got quii(,
ground by the men, and would swear to the conduct
pursued by I3rig,gs towards her. She was not pre-
pared to swear to any of the others. She ran cff
to Mr. Pitehforth's house, and got shelter in the

,I••••••••
farm servants' house, where she remained —until the
next morning. Atte r two or three other witnesses
had been examined., whose evidence went chiefly'
to establish the ithaitity of the prisoners, or sol!1;3
of them, Police-Seirg cant Mark Greaves ;hen said
that he apprehend eel Chappell and Earnshaw tog!'
ther last Friday, aid charged them with the 0.;
fence. Chappell admitted he was there, but said
he had never touched the prosecutrix. Earnshaw
also said. he and Chappell were there; that theY,
stopped and came :may together, but never touch
ea
the lasses. He (tlae officer) apprehended Stott th.de
same night, and he, in answer to the charge, sat
he was there, and so was Marsden, who was es bti;
as any of them. Ile apprehended Cookson, ovl
said he was rightly served for going. He
went with " Bolley" (Briggs), and was afraid be
had got into trouble. When he apprehended MI
den, that prisoner said he was there rather fresh'
and expected it would be " a bit o' 'Wakefield for
'em." Mr. Mitchell briefly addressed the Beni.
putting it to the magistrates whether they ec'n%
dered there was a sufficient case against his diem
more particularly Stott, against whom there he
not a tittle of evidence, save what was given byili a-
officer. A consultation took place among oh Stott.
gistrates, and. they decided on dismissing ,J-°tt.
,h,
With regard to the rest, they were charged in
usual way, and asked if they had anything W say,
Briggs and Earnshaw declined to say anything, the
the rest simply denied the truth of thebharge.
whole six were then committed for trial at the "
suing assizes at York.