The Sun.
London, England, 1857-10-17 00:00:00

Three trusses were on fire out of 36. At the time
of the fire I saw the prisoner five minute.z. before in
the yard. I ordered the prisoner out of the yard
before the file bigen, and from the tmo I ordered
him off and the fire commpricing I
.saw any
one else on the premises. 1 said I would kick the
prisoner off the steps if he dif no', leave the yard.
Mr& Verdon said—l am a houskeeper, and live
at 46, Middlesex-street. I remember the day of
the fire. Between half-past three and four I saw
the prisoner psss my kitchen window. When I saw
him was after the cowmen had ordered him out of
the yard. Between the time when the fire c ,m-
-menced, and the prisoner had been ordered out of
the yard, I saw no one else but the prisoner on the
premises. No one else had b,en near the place
except the prisoner and a little girl who went to
feed the fowls, an,l who screamed as soon as she
got ou.side:_ . _

William Wright said—l am a cowman; and work
on the premises in which the fire commenced. I
have known the prsonLr about the yard. I saw
him on the day iu question, and I said, " Dick,
you must go away, the governor says you must."
The prisoner said, " You need not be so bounce-
abb., you won't be here long 1" I asked him for
what reason, and he said, " That is my business."
At that time the hay in the cowhouse was perfectly
safe, I having just fed the cattle. A few minutes
afterwards the prisoner came to my window,
knocked and said, " You are wanted." When I
got out of doors the prisoner said, " There is a
fire," but did not say where. He did not go to the
fire that I was aware of. The hay that was burnt
was a portion of 36 trusses that had been had in
that day. The place where the fire was, was at the
back of the whole of the hay, and between the hay
and the wall.

Charlotte Hedges said—l am ten years of age,
and cannot read or write. Ido not go to school.
I do know that it would be wrong of me to tell a
lie. On Tuesday week I remember seeing some
hay on fire in the cow-shed. I then called Mr.
Harris. I had not been near the hay myself, nor
had 1 a light or lucifers in the yard. I SAW the
prisoner in the yard not a quarter of an hour be-
fore the fire broke out. There was no one else but
the prisoner in titte yard from the•lme the cowman
left until the fire broke out.
Police-constable John Cook, 198 S, said, said—
I took the prisoner into custody on the day of the
firo about five o'clock. I told him he was charged
with setting fire to Mr. Harris's premises. He
said, "It was not me, it could not be me ; I have
not been in the yard all day." On the road to the
station he said, " There were some children in the
yard. I could not have set fi, e to the yard for I
have got no lucifers." Just as I was going to search
him at the station he pulled off his jacket and waist-
coat, and attempted to tear his waisbcoat up. In his
jacketpocket I found four heifers. Prisoner said,
"I did not know that I had got them." The
lucifers were perfect, but not very clean. I have
examined the cowshed where the fire was. Part
of the hay burnt was on the wall side of the shed,
and a person must have climbed over the whole
trusses to get at this spot. The rest of the hay was
perfectly dry, and had been bought on that day.
Thera can be no doubt that if the fire had not been
at once discovered the shed and dwelling-house
would have been burnt down.
The prisoner in defence said—l know nothing
about the matter. I helped them out with the
hay when the fire was at its highest, and then I
fetchel the 01l gentleman.
Mr. Tyrwhitt committed the prisoner to the
Central Criminal Court for trial.

WORSHIP-STREER_Mr. Henry Hunt, of
Waltham cross, Essex,
appeared to a summons, in
which he was charged with unlawfully brought, and
used upon, the Eastern Counties Railway, or a part
thereof, a certain locomotive engine, without hav-
ing first obtained a certificate of approval from the
engineers or other authorised agents of the com-
pany, whereby he had rendered himself liable to a
penalty of 20/.
Mr. Tindal Atkinson, instructed by Mr. Hughes,
from the office of
Messrs. Crowder and Maynard,
solicitors to the company, conducted the prosecu-
tion ; and Mr. Robinson appeared as counsel for
the defence.

A Lumber of witaaesses, consisting of guards,
signal men, and other servants of the company,
proved that between 8 and 9 o'clock on the even-
ing of the Ist instant a strange engine suddenly
made its appearance on the branch line at Hackney
Wick. It proceeded along the railway, until it
was finally lost sight of at the Barking station. At
each station wrong signals were given by the persons
in charge of the engine, who displayed such entire
ignorance as to the times End other essential
arrangements of the company that it was found
necessary more than once to shift the engine on to
the sidings for the prevention of a collision with
the regular passenger trains. On its arrival at
Barking the defendanf, who was recognised on the
engine, was questioned by an inspector on duty at
that place, to whom he stated that he was about to
work coils on the linP, for which he had obtained
the necessary certificate from the manager and
secretary.

will Am lan, the locomotive foreman at Strat-
ford, deposed to a comers ttion which took place
between him and Mr. Hunt on the morning of the
Ist inst., in:the course of which witness cautioned
him as to the necessity of possessing himself of the
time tables, and other regulations of the company,
to ensure the safe working of his engine between
the trains, when the defendant replied, "They
myway, and not out of theirs."
Robinson, thesuperin'endent of the
must
m r
Jameseep out of
coaching department, who was examined in re-
ference to the dangerous consequences whiclmight
ignorance of the
the line,
stated that
have
existing res ualrtrcadn fromgeme tulles duepfeonnd
the passenger trams to North Woolwich amounted
to eight within the hour, besides which their were
extra special trains running, 'which were not noticed
in the tine tables.

Mr. Blackburn Owen, the railway secretary,
st ttEd that it was part of its duty to supply certifi-
cates. He authorised the use of private engines on
the lines, and the defendant had repeatedly applied
for one, but it had certainly not been granted to
him.

Mengineer,ezatninrion gave similar evidence
but
that he had in-
spectAl the engine, and had aubsequ9ntly informed
aramSiiititceldaiin' the
truss
the defendant that he had made a favourable ro-
port regiectiusz it to the managing director.
After some observations from the defendant's
coun,el.

Mr. ilammill expressed his decided opinion that
it was a case for conviction, but as he considered it
to be prob,thle, after the evidence of the engineer,
that the d fondant had acted under an erroneous
impression that he would be justified in working
his engine upon the railway, he should exercise his
were
discretion in reduc:ng the penal'y to W., together
wi, h the costs, which assessed at 121. 9s. 6d.
The defendant immediately handed in a cheque
for the amount.

SOUTHWARK.—Ann Monk, A nurse in St.
Thomas's Hospital, was brought before Mr. Combo
charged with being drunk in one of the wards, and
assaulting James smith, one of the portere.
The complainant stated Viat on the previous
afternoon he receivel information that the prisoner
was drunk in Abraham Wa'd, and on proceeding
there he saw that she was extremely violent and
attacking one of the patientr. Witness went to
remove her, when she snatched up a knife and
swo:e she would stab him. He, however, suc-
ceeded in taking it from her, and he then gave her
into custody.
In answer to the charge the prisoner said she
had a drop of something with a frit n'l, and when
she got in the ward ore of the patients insulted
her. Smith Caine up at the time, and in her pas-
sion she pushed against him, but she had no inten-
tion of using the knife.
Mr. Combs asked whether she had been trouble-
some before ?

Sin th replied in the negative, but her conduct
was exceedingly violent ; besides that, her attack-
ing a patient was very bad.
Mr. Combe fined her Os., and in default of pap
taunt committed her for a month.

THAMES.—Emma Middleton, a woman about
25 years of age, and rather good looking, was
brought Lefore Mr. S
—ee, charged, on her own
confe aim, with the wilful murder of a newly-born
child, at Brighton, about seven months ago.
The prisoner appeared greatly
agitated,
sobbed audibly and frequently while and
the case was
proceeding, and Roche, the gaoler of the court,
stood alongside of her during the investigation.
Inspector Griffin, of the K division, said he took
the prisoner into custody that day at 'lO o'clock, at
No: 10, Mount-terracs, Whitechapel-road, in con-
sequence of information, and read the following
statement to her wh.ch she had previously made to
a gentleman named Ru,sell :—" H. division,
Leman-street station, October 15, 1857—Mr.
W. J. Russell, of the Rescue Society for Fallen
Females (address 11, Poultry), came to the station
t )-day and stated that a female
of the above
el iss, named Emma Middleton, at Mr. Spink's
Females' Home, IVlount-terrace, New-road, White-
chapel, made the following staten:ent to him on
the 2d instant :—That seven months ago she was
in a gentleman's family
at Brighton, when the
cook, her fellow-servant, gave birth to a child about
one o'clock in the morning, and asked her to assist
her to kill it. The mother put her hand over its
mouth, and she tied a handkerchief over its mouth,
while she (the prisoner) tied a handkerchief round
its neck and strangled it. She then wrapped it up
in a cloak and carried it to the seashore, and