The Sun.
London, England, 1844-08-22 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 22, 1G44.

most innocent, it wearies them. What right, then,
has a clergyman to impose this hardship upon it may
be one half, but call it but a twentieth of his congre-
gation ? They wish to attend their parish church ;
why are they to be annoyed in it, or driven from it ?
It will not be denied that our noble Liturgy, read
distinctly, feelingly, and unaffectedly, is the perfect
fulfilment of the great requisite of worship—" prayer
with the spirit, and prayer with the understanding
a 150.," Now, in this worship every one, by divine grace,
is able to join, whatever his defect of musical ear;
and surely this ought to be enough for the service.
The clergyman and his family, perhaps, delight in
music—let them enjoy it at home, or at any friend's
who delights in it also ; but let not a clergyman incur
the risk of forcing upon his congregation that which
does not in all cases "tend to edification."

We regret to announce the death of the Baroness
Rossmore, which took place at the Dell, near Windsor,
on Tuesday morning. The memory of this amiable lady
will be long revered by a large circle of friends.
SECOND CHESS MATCH BETWEEN MR. STAUNTON
AND M. ST. AmaNT.—The preliminaries of another
match at chess between these distinguished champions of
England and France have been arranged, and is to come
off at Paris in about a month. It was at first wished that
M. St. Amara, who was desirous of another trial of
skill with Mr. Staunton, should come over to London to
fight the match; but, as that could not be arranged, Mr.
Staunton, rather than seem to shrink from the contest,
agreed to go over to Paris a second time. The Liver-
pool Chess Club has contributed 50/. towards the ex-
penses of the match.
Musußooxas.—Mushrooms have recently, in this
neighbourhood, been so abundant, as to have become
almost a drug in our public markets and streets. They
have been sold, of good quality too, at from 14d. to 2d.
per quart—a price which, considering the toil of gather-
ing, and the expenditure of shoe leather in the morning
wet or dew of the old meadows, can scarcely be remu.
nerative. Pains-taking housekeepers have been enabled
to bottle up an ample supply of ketchup.—Liverpool
paper.

LA W INTELLIGENCE.
COURT OF BANKRUPTCY, Aug. 21.
(Before Mr. Commissioner FANE.)
IN THE MATTER OF JAMES GIBBS.

This bankrupt was the well known annuitant granter,
money borrower and lender, carrying on business in
Jermyn-street, St. James's, to an immense extent, ho
having succeeded to the business of the firm of " Howard
and Gibbs," who some twenty years ago, entailed so
much ruin upon almost every class of society in this me-
tropolis.
he proceedings in the case of James Gibbs have oc-
cupied a considerable length of time before Mr. Com-
missioner Holroyd, and his final examination was ad-
journed sine die in consequence of the non production
of a " private book," which it was sworn he had kept,
but which the bankrupt swore had been destroyed many
years ago.
The Learned Commissioner's decision was appealed
against in the Court of Review before Sir J. Knight
Bruce, when the following order was issued :—" This
Court doth order that the said assignees (of James
Gibbs) do proceed before the Commissioner of her Ma-
jesty's Court of Bankruptcy, acting in prosecution of the
iat in bankruptcy issued against the said bankrupt, with
the examination and investigation of the bankrupt's ac-
:ounts, and with the further and full examination of the
aid bankrupt touching his estate and effects, so far and
.n all such respects as the same can be done under ex-
sting circumstances. But this order is to be without
prejudice to any question—whether the answers of the
,aid bankrupt, in the said petition mentioned or referred
o, have, or have not, been satisfactory or sufficient, and
without prejudice to any question as to the existence or
ion-existence of the book or books in question, men-
ioned or referred to in the said petition, and the said
;ommissioner is to be at liberty (if he shall think fit)
o make any special report to this Court, and this Court
loth order the said petition to stand over, on all the
tuestions and costs, 'and the said parties, or either of
hem, are to be at liberty to apply to this Court touching
he matters of the said petition as they may be advised."

SUMMER ASSIZES.
NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—L-Liverpool, Aug. 20.
(Before the LORD CIIIEF BARON.) _ _ .

William Anderson, a surgeon, practising at Manches-
er, was indicted for the manslaughter of Jane Ford, by
he administering of improper medicines.
Mr. Wilkins and Mr. Mark conducted the prosecution;
he prisoner was defended by Mr. James.
Mr. Wilkins stated the case.

Catherine Foley, examined by Mr. MARK—I am the
wife of William Foley. My maiden name was Ford. I
vas married to my husband, Philip Foley, after the
iirth of this child. It was six weeks old at the time of
is death. It was in good health on the morning of the
29th of May. I fed it about ten o'clock on boiled bread
tnd milk. It ate heartily. It took the breast well. In
,e afternoon it was seized with a fit of crying. I searchd
its clothes to see whether anything hurt it. I could not
Ind anything. I took it to a druggist's in Newton-lane,
near my house. He told me to take it to Surgeon An-
Jerson's. I did so. I showed him the child. It was
lot then crying. lie asked what was to do with the
3hild. I said it was bad in the belly. Ile asked if I had
ed it. I said I had. He asked me if it was with new
artad or old? I said with old. A woman who was
:here asked if it ever bad fits? I said no. He felt the
'idly of the child. It did not cry when he did so. He
looked up in my face and laughed. I told him I had
given it a teaspoonful of castor oil. He asked me if it
lrew up its legs. I said, " No, it was rather inclined
o stretch itself out." He asked me for a bottle, and I
etched one. He filled it from two bottles in the shop. I
paid4d. for it. He told me to give the child a teaspoon-
-111 every four hours, one dose to be given as soon as I got
ho me. He did not tell me to go back to tell him how
t was going on. I gave it a teaspoonful of the mixture
Lbout seven o'clock. It cried a little but not much. I
gave it another dose about eleven o'clock. It slept very
Leavily, but awakened partially when I took it up. I
had no difficulty in opening its mouth, but it hiccupped
Ind moaned. Its feet were cold, and the legs drawn up.
[ straightened them, but it drew them up again. About
our o'clock in the morning I gave it another dose. I
got up about seven o'clock. I went to Mr. Anderson
tbout half-past seven. The child was then sleeping very
heavily, and I did not attempt to wake it. When Mr.
Anderson came down I said, " Mr. Anderson, the little
.hild I had hero yesterday was very poorly in the
light, and hiccupped very much after I gave it the se-
•nnd teaspoonful of the mixture. It draws up its legs
nd moans very much." He asked me if it had slept ?
[ said it had. I had taken the bottle with me. It was
utlf full. Mr. Anderson filled it up, and told me to
ive it to the child as before. I gave it another dose
about eight o'clock. It was not moaning then. It was
n other respects the same as before. About twelve
;clock I gave it some more. It was very cold, and I se-
eral times took it to the fire to warm it. I then took it
o Mr. Taylor's, the druggist, and he desired me to
ake it to the infirmary. This was after four o'clock in
he afternoon. The child died about half-past one on
Friday morning. After its death I went to the prisoner
,nd asked him what was his reason fur giving such me-
,icine to my child to kill her ? He said he thought
here was something sour on her stomach.
This evidence having been confirmed,
Edward Tomlinson, a surgeon at the infirmary, stated
hat the child was brought to him on the 31st of May,
bout five o'clock. It was then labouring under symp-
toms of narcotic poison. The skin was cold, the pulse
:mall, the pupils contracted and fixed. There was a
slight consciousness. The bottle delivered to witness by
Mrs. Foley was given to Mr. Braithwaite. Witness
,melt it. It contained opium. The child was put in a
mot bath, and other means were used to rouse it. Does
tot think that opium should ever be given to an infant.
Elalf a drop should, at all events, be the largest dose.
Would expect two drops to produce death in from seven
o twelve hours. After twelve hours there are usually
lopes of recovery. Four drops would probably pro-
luce death in from seven to twelve hours. Could not
;my nearer. Six drops in five hours would probably
,moduce death sooner. An overcharged stomach fre-
luently produces symptoms similar to those produced
by narcotic poison.
Re-examined—The symptoms produced by an over-
loaded stomach would be apoplectic. In apoplexy the
pupil is dilated, not contracted. The strength of lau-
lanum varies very much.
John Braithwaite, the apothecary at the infirmary,
stated that he saw the child about nine o'clock in the
evening. It was then comotose. The skin was cold,
he pupils contracted, and there was great difficulty in
-ousing it. In apoplexy the patient cannot be roused at
.11. Received a bottle from the last witness. It smelt
trongly of opium. Ordered strong coffee to be adminis-
tered. The cure, however, seemed then hopeless. Wit-
ness made up a mixture, containing six drops of lau-
danum to three drachms of water, which he gave to
llr. Watson, the chemist. The child died on the Friday.
Examined the body the same day. There were several
duish patches on the surface of the skin. The brain
vas congested. On cutting into its substance found
•everal spots of dark coloured blood. Took out the
stomach and bowels, and gave them to Mr. Philipson,
the Coroner's officer. The body presented the usual ap-
pearances of death from narcotic poison. The stomach
was not distended. There was no smell of opium, but
the child might still have died of opium, as it would be
absorbed. Infants are peculiarly susceptible of the effects
Hof opium. Would not administer as much as half a drop
to an infant six weeks old.

Cross -examined—Would suppose a dose of two drops
would produce death in from six to eight, ten, or twelve,
or more hours. It is impossible to speak definitely.
Several doses of two drops each would probably cause
death sooner, but not so soon as if all were administered
together. After tx o drops the infant would probably be
in a comotose state in fuur hours.
Re examined—The effects of opium are different in
different constitutions.
H. B. Watson, chemist, tested the contents of the
bottle received from Mrs. Foley, and the mixture made
up by Mr. Braithwaite. Added a solution of the sulphate
of the peroxide ofiron and compared the colour. The mix-
ture received from Mrs. Foley was stronger than that made
up by Mr. Braithwaite, viz., six drops to three drachms
of water. Diluted a portion of the former until the
colour, when the solution was added as above, approached
that of tho latter. Thinks the mixture received from
Mrs. Foley was at least twice as strong as that made up
by Mr. Braithwaite.
It appeared from the evidence of Mr. Beswick, the
constable, that on the 6th of June he went to the house
of the prisoner. A young man who was in the shop
shut the door, and refused him admission. He got in,
and going down to the cellar found the door shut. Some
one opposed his entrance from the inside. On getting
in he..found the prisoner and two females there. He
spoke to the prisoner about the child. He said he knew
nothing about it. He had no such name in his books.

Mr. JAMES addressed the jury for the defence, and
His LORDSHIP having summed up, the jury, after some
deliberation, returned a verdict of Not Guilty.

OXFORD ClRCUlT.—Gloucester, Aug. 20.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Sergeant ATCHEALEY.)
William Spenings, aged 21, James Baby, 23, Thomas
Silman, 23, and Charles Hibbs, 24, were indicted, the
latter for having ravished and carnally known a woman
of the name of Elizabeth Lewis, and the other three for
having aided and assisted him in the perpetration of the
crime.

Mr. Keating appeared for the Crown. The prisoners
were defended by Mr. Greaves and Mr. Hu ldleston.
On the 3Cth of July last, the prosecutrix, who was a
person of most unprepossessing appearance, had gone a
short distance from her father's cottage, at Winter-
bourne, for the purpose of drawing water, when she met
the four men at the bar, close to a quarry. They came
up to her, and Hibbs, with an oath, declared he wonld
" give it her." According to her statement, the three
other men then laid hold of her, and kept her firmly
upon the ground until Hibbs had accomplished his pur-
pose. This being effected, some persons were heard
approaching, when the men all took to their heels and
decamped. She went next day with her mother, before
the Rev. J. Mirehouse, a magistrate, and there made
her depositions.
On cross-examination, the witness admitted that the
act was accomplished in the open quarry, on the out-
side of a shed in which her sister was, and a man of
the name of Lloyd also. She admitted haling made a
charge of a somewhat similar description against some
young men, which she compromised by taking half-a-
crown each from them. She appeared also to prevari-
cate considerably, and to make several statements of an
improbable character.
After a trial of some duration, the prisoners were
acquitted.
Besides the above, the Learned Sergeant has, during
the day, disposed of several cases of bestiality, rape, and
concealment of birth, the details of all of which are
equally unfit for publication.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.
OLD COURT.

TRIAL OF BELANEY.-STEPNEY POISONING
CASE.

(Continued from our Afternoon Edition of yesterday.)
Thomas Donaghue--I am a surgeon, living in White-
horse-street, Stepney. I knew the prisoner about four
years ago. On the 6th June last he came to my shop.
He wrote upon a slate that he would call again, I not
being at home. He then came again about seven o'clock.
He asked for some prussic acid, salts, senna, acetate of
morphine, chloric_acid, and carbonate of soda. He said
he wanted the prussic acid, as he was in the habit of
taking it. I got it for him. I got Scheeile's prepara-
tion of prussic acid for him the next day. It was in an
ounce phial. It had a glass stopper. I knew by the
feel of the bottle it was covered. I saw him after his
wife died, and he told me that the neck of the bottle was
broken, and that he poured it into a tumbler, which his
wife took, she having taken salts. He wished me to at-
tend the inquest.
Cross-examined by Mr. CLARIESON—I knew him four
years ago. I knew then he was in the habit of taking
prussic acid. He told me he would return the bottle. A
morphia is also taken as a sedative for dyspepsia.
Dr. Letherby recalled—The acetate of morphine would
be slow in its effect, and easily known.
George Gall, examined by Mr. CHAMBERS—I was
errand-boy to Mr. Donaghue. I went to Evans's to
buy some prussic acid. I gave it to Mr. Donaghue. I
bought it of Mr. Evans, of Bartholomew•close.
Richard Willis Powell—l am shopman to Mr. Evans.
I recollect selling some prussic acid on the 6th of June.
I sold it for Mr. Donaghue. It was called Scheeile's
preparation.
Thomas Long, examined by the SOLICITOR-GENERAL
—I am gardener of the City of London Tower Hamlet
Cemetery. I saw the prisoner there, about 12 o'clock,
on the Bth of June. There were two gentlemen with
him. He told me he wanted to purchase a piece of
ground to bury. Captain Clarke was with him. He
said he wished the burial should take place on the Tues-
day. I told him he should give four clear days to get a
brick grave done. They said they would have a seven
foot grave till they could have a brick one made. He
went away,' and had a handkerchief to his eyes, appa-
rently weeping. Captain Clarke said ho would hear no
more of the burial till Monday.
John Haynes, examined by Mr. BODKIN—I am in-
spector of the metropolitan police. I went down to
North Sunderland. I saw Mr. Bell there. I got the
letters handed up by me from him. The two papers I
found in a cupboard in th• house of the prisoner.
George Gray Bell examined—l live in North Sunder-
land. I know Mr. Belaney. I was agent of some lime
works, of which the prisoner was a partner. I became
agent in September. Mr. Belaney was living near the
place. Mrs. Belaney was living with him. About July
he was leaving for London with Mrs. Belaney. I re-
ceived the letters marked from No. 1 to 6 from him.
They are in his handwriting. The two papers handed
up I believe to be in his handwriting. There is a letter
addressed to Mr. John Denning. I know the copyhold
property which the late Mrs. Skerrett had. She was
the mother of Mrs. Belaney. It would now sell for about
3,700/. Mr. Robson was a partner in the lime works.
The, share of Mrs. Bolaney, including a colliery, was
worth about 2,4001. I made an estimate of the property.
It was about 6,0001.

Cross-examined by Mr. ELME— I heard Mr. Belaney
talking of an excursion in the month of September. He
spoke of going to the south. I heard of the excursion
frequently spoken of between September and the lst of
June. Mr. Belaney was fond of falconry. He said he
wished to see an exhibition of falconry on the Rhine.
He keeps a great number of birds. I never saw anything
but the greatest kindness subsisting between Mr.
and Mrs. Belaney. She seemed apparently perfectly
happy. I was put into the agency by Mr. Belaney. He
had full control over the lime works, and managed
as he pleased. There was a house building on the pro-
perty for them.
Re-examined—l did not see much of Mr. and Mrs.
Belaney after their marriage. Mrs. Belaney was twenty-
two years of age.
Alexander Wilson—l am farm steward in the service of
Robson and Skerrett. I knew Mr. Belaney. I remember
his marrying Miss Skerrett. It was on the 23d of
February, 1843. She was an only child. Mr. Belaney
practised as a medical man before his marriage. He gave
up practising after his marriage, and took the manage-
ment of the lime works. Mrs. Skerrett died on the Ist
of July after the marriage. On the 31st of May this
he was going to the Con-
yt
ienaern
tI.
I heardha
dMsro.mßee lba
an:iyn:essasy
to transact with him. He
said to me he wanted a witness to the wills which were
made ; that it was a thing which was generally done
when people went from home. The papers were pro-
duced. Mrs. Belaney was present. He read one of
them over, and he said the other was to the same effect.
I put my name to the papers. They had been signed
before by Mr. and Mrs. Belaney, but they went over
them again with a dry pen. The next day they left for
Londost.
Cross-examined by Mr. ERLE —I have been employed
thirty years, but have been farm-steward only since
March last. Mrs. Skerrett was an old woman when she
died. Mrs. Belaney appeared to me to be happy in her
marriage. Mr. Belaney had the management of the pro •
perty. I heard Mrs. Belaney say that she was anxious
to see London. His character was that of a kind man
as far as I knew.
Ralph Moore—l am a shoemaker, residing at North
Sunderland. I witnessed the wills. I knew Mr. Be-
laney for several years.
John Dinning—l am a farmer residing at Elford, near
North Sunderland. I knew the prisoner fur about three
years prior to June. I was from home in June. I re-
turned on the 10th, and found a letter from Mr. Belaney
before me. A letter posted in London on Saturday would
reach me about five o'clock in the afternoon. I got this
letter about ten in the forenoon. I destroyed that letter.
It was dated from the Euston Hotel, the 6th of June, to
the best of my belief. The contents of that letter were,
to the best of my belief, that I would be sorry to hear
that his wife was taken unwell ; that she was attended
by two physicians. He was about to remove her to pri-
vate lodgings, and be would not be able to take her to
the Rbine. He also said that he was afraid that was
going to happen which had happened before. I under-
stood this to mean a miscarriage.
Cross-examined--Mr. and Mrs. Belaney appeared to
me to be living on happy terms. Mr. Belaney was fond of
falconry. I heard of the tour spoken of some time before.
Mrs. Belaney was anxious for, and she seemed desirous
of, going to London, and to go to Arlington, where Mr.
Belaney's brother resided. He bore the character of a
man of kindness and humanity.
Thomas Robert Younghusband—l am a farmer re-
siding at Elwick. I know the last witness. I have seen
the prisoner before. On the 11th of June Mr. Dinning
showed me a letter from Mr. Belaney. It was dated the
Euston Hotel. The witness described the contents of
the letter to the same effect as the last witness. I was
not then aware of the death of Mrs. Belaney. I heard
of her death on the Thursday or Friday after. The con-
tents of the letter occurred to me more strongly when I
heard of the death.
Mr. Richard Straker—l am the postmaster of North
Sunderland. At the time in which this transaction
took place, a letter put into the post-office in London,
would reach North Sunderland at eleven o'clock
in the forenoon of Saturday. Mr. Dinning's letters
were taken to him by a servant. The letter directed to
Mr. Dinning from Mr. Belaney was in the post-office
on Saturday the Bth, to the best of my belief. It must
have been posted on the 6th in London, to arrive in
North Sunderland on the Bth.
Cross-examined—Mr. and Mrs. Belaney appeared to
live happily together. He had the character of being a
kind man as far as I knew.
Mr. Dinning was recalled, and said that he had
been from home from Thursday, the 6th.
William Blott, a clerk in the General Post-office—
This letter, No. 2, bears the morning mark of the 10th
of June. It must have been, therefore, posted either be-
fore half-past five on the evening of the 9th, or before
eight on the morning of the 10th. The 9th being Sun-
day, it must have been posted after half-past five on Sa-
turday evening. This letter, No. 3, must have been
posted before eight o'clock on the morning of the
10th, or before half-past five in the evening. It bears
the evening post mark.
Mr. George Scott—l am registrar of births and
deaths in North Sunderland. Registered the death of
Mrs. Skerrett, in January, 1843. I called on Mr. Belaney
for the particulars. He had called on me to register.
When I asked him the cause of death, he stammered,
and said, " Well, you may
say, bilious fever."
The entry was put in, and read.
Mr. Dinning recalled, and examined by Mr. ERLE—
I visited Belaney's house during the illness of Mrs.
Skerrett. I believe Mr. Hunt, a medical man, attended
her, but I am not sure.
h.

,nor of Branib

Mr. R. Ferguson, "clerk to the ma. .iurgh,
was called, and proved that Mr. and Mrs. Belaney
called upon him, and she handed over the interest in the
copyhold for the use of herself and children,

Sarah Williams recalled, and examined by Mr. ERLE
—Some articles were brought for Mrs. Belaney to the
house. Those were a bonnet and some other articles.

The wills were then put in, and read. They were
dated the 17th of May. One conveyed all the pro-
perty of James Cockburn Belaney to his wife, Rachel
Belaney, and the other conveyed the property of Rachel
Belaney t, her husband.
The letters of the prisoner were put in and read.
The case for the prosecution having closed,
Mr. ERLE asked the Court for time to proceed with
the defence till to-morrow, as he felt that he would be
better able to do justice to the case if he was allowed
time till to-morrow.

The COURT thought that it was too early an hour to
break up.
Mr. Limit rose to address the jury on behalf of the
prisoner. He commenced by entreating them to dismiss
from their minds all they had heard upon the subject of the
charge against the prisoner out of door, and not to allow
any rumours or reports that might have come to their
knowledge on the subject to prejudice the inquiry. He
then proceeded to state that there would be no difficu'ty
as to the cause of dt ath, which was clearly occasioned
by prussic acid, and the only question for the jury was,
whether the prisoner had wilfully administered that
poison to his wife, and with the intent to murder her ;
and this was the point which the jury had to decide. He
then proceeded to remark that the evidence showed the
prisoner to be a man of respectability ; he had contracted
what appeared to be a happy marriage ; there was no
imputation of any rival affection ; and yet, without any
apparent motive whatever, the jury were called on to say
that he had committed the most enormous crime that
could possibly be committed by any human being. He
beirged the jury to remember that it was impossible
there could be any pecuniary motive for this act,
for it was proved that from the moment of his
marriage the whole of the property had been placed in his
uncontrolled possession. The copyhold property was
handed over to him, and he might have dons what he
pleased with it ; therefore there could not have been any
pecuniary motive to induce him to commit the murder.
The will that had been been referred to gave the pri-
soner no more power over the property than he possessed
before, for by his marriage the property became his, and
if his wife had died first the whole would have devolved
upon him. He begged them to recollect that if the
prisoner had died his property would have been divided
amongst relations, andat was, therefore, a most natural
and honourable course for him to endeavour to secure to
her, in such an event, the property which he had himself
derived from her. As to the will of the deceased, it was
mere waste paper, and was invalid in every respect ; and
it it had been a valid instrument it would not at all have
benefited the prisoner. With regard to the letters being
dated from the Euston Hotel, when the prisoner and his
wife had left that establishment, it might, he considered,
be very easily accounted for by the fact that the prisoner
and his wife were not anxious to have it known that they
were living in a small apartment, but desired to have it
thought that they were in a stylish place, like the
Euston Hotel. It should be recollected, also, that the
place where the prisoner did take up his abode was of
all others the only part of London where he had any
friends, and he would ask them if it was likely that he
would have chosen, such a spot for the commission of a
cool and deliberate murder? The Learned Counsel then
proceeded to remark upon the other facts of the case,
and he said it certainly appeared that the prisoner's
statement that two medical men were in attendance
upon his wife was not true, but the prisoner's explana-
tion was, that if the illness of Mrs. Belaney had con-
tinued, it was his intention to have called in medical
assistance. As to the possession of the poisonous arti-
cles, he should be in a position most satisfactorily to
account for this circumstance from the fact that
the prisoner had for several years laboured under
dyspepsia, and the only means of relief were
the administration of strong 'acids, and the medical
gentlemen who had prescribed for the prisoner was in
attendance to prove this fact. He then remarked upon
the affection which it was proved existed between the
prosecutor and his wife, and the kind manner in which
he had ministered to her comfort, and asked the jury
whether they could reconcile such conduct with the
belief that the prisoner all along intended to carry out a
deliberate plan of murdering his unoffending victim?
He contended that the prisoner's story as to the manner
in which the poison bad been taken by the deceased
was most probable, and that it was borne out by all the
circumstances spoken to by the witnesses. 'What was
more probable, then, than that the unfortunate deceased,
after taking the salts, which it was proved she had done,
should have got up and taken some water in order to
remove the taste of ' the salts from her mouth,
and seeing this glass upon the drawers, that she should
have employed it for that purpose? He called upon the
jury to weigh all the facts of the case minutely, and he
felt satisfied that the remit would be that they must
acquit the prisoner; and he felt convinced they would
think it impossible for human nature to be guilty of so
monstrous and aggravated a crime as that imputed to his
unfortunate client, for if the charge were true, he must
be the blackest fiend that ever walked upon the face of
the earth. It was impossible that he should be guilty. He
had been acquainted with the deceased in early life.
They had grown up together, were united, and
during their conjugal intimacy lived most happily
together ; and he would ask what possible motive the
prisoner could have had for the commission of so heinous
a crime? His Learned Friend might tell them that he
would exchange his life interest for the fee, but what
would that be ? He could sell the property, and that
was all. Was there the least evidence of any intention
on his part to dispose of the property? He would ask
the jury, as husbands and as fathers, whether they could
believe it possible that the prisoner had committed this
awful crime under such circumstances? He had a young
and lovely wife, in the flower and bloom of life, and
about to become a mother ; and the prisoner was charged
with the murder of that wife, without the slightest
motive being assigned for the commission of the act. It
certainly was a most mysterious case, and he begged the
jury to recollect that they were inquiring into the intention
of their fellow-man, an intention which could only be known
to God ; and he therefore implored them, if they had
but a single doubt, to give the prisoner the benefit of
that doubt, and acquit him.
At the conclusion of the address of the Learned Coun-
sel, the Court adjourned until this morning at ten o'clock.

and he replied, " I don't care if I do." At one period
of the occurrence he seemed to be trying to lift her from
the floor on to the bed, but the greater part of the time
he did all he could to keep her down. Mrs. Williams's
niece was present when I entered the apartment ; she
was forced out before I was. I have AO doubt that the
defendant received the bruise which he now has upon
his eye in the course of the struggle between him and his
wife. I have not had medical advice for the hurt I re
ccived ; my side is painful still. I certainly was ordered
out by defendant, but seeing the manner in which my
mistress was being treated I fslt myself bound to stay
and do all I could for her, as she had called to me so
loudly to assist her.
The answer made by defendant's solicitor to the charge
was, that a painful altercation had taken place between
Mr. and Mrs. Williams, and that not wishing for any
other person to be present during the quarrel, Mr. Wil-
liams ordered complainant out of the room. No more
violence was used than was necessary, and Mr. Williams
positively denied havirg struck any blow.
Mr. RAWLINSON—Have you any witnesses? Solicitor
—No, Sir.
Mr. RAWLINSON remarked that he could see no excuse
whatever for defendant's conduct, and inflicted upon bias
the full penalty of 51.
The defendant, by the advice of his solicitor, intends
to appeal against thy
-Magistrate's decision at the sessions.