The Sun.
London, England, 1850-04-04 00:00:00

tween them. Had to pass by within three yards of
; them. Onthe night of the 2d of November last, as she
and her husband were returning from market, at
about half-past eleven o'clock, she saw them to-
gether.
Mr. Frederick Wells, a solicitor, deposed that the
plaintiff rented grs zing land of him, and he had known
him for several years. He came to consult with the
witness on the general Thanksgiving-day, and ap-
peared in much excitement and distress. The writ in
this action was issued within a few days from thia
time, and before the county court proceeding.
Re-examined—That proceeding was a plaint by the
aunt of the wife to recover the charge of her mainte-
nance from the husband, and by him resisted on the
ground of adultry.
This was the plaintiff's case.
Mr. MILLER having addressed the jury on behalf
of the defendant,
His LORDSHIP summed up, observing that it was
for the jury to consider whether they could entertain
any doubt upon the whole of this testimony. Th e
man servant, Eden, proved, as it appeared to him,
quite sufficient to establish the case, if they believed
him. Me had deposed to a succession of gross
familiarities, and to the parties having sub-
sequently thereto, voluntarily placed them-
selves under circumstances in which the act
might be committed, and those learned persons
practising elsewhere (that was in the Ecclesiastical
Courts) who were more accustomed to judge of cases
of this description, laid it down that, from that act,
the act of adultery itself was to be inferred. In esti-
mating the damages, if they should be of opinion that
the case was made out, they should not, as it seemed
to him, view the loss merely as that of such a woman
as she would appear to have become, but, if the de-
fendant had reduced her to the degradation that had
been described, consider whether or not he should be
responsible for it. The first liberties spoken to, and
the abandoned conduct at that time, reduced the im -
probabilities of the subsequent acts, described to have
taken place. They might be of opinion that very
slight damages indeed would be a compensation for
the deprivation of such a woman as she now was, but
they would probably award compensation with a view
to the loss sustained through the misconduct of the
defendant from the commencement.
The jury turned round in the box, and in a very
few minutes returned a verdict for the plaintiff,
damages 501.
CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Baron PARER.)
THE QUEEN V. DAVENPORT.
The prisoner was indicted in the first count for
shooting at and wounding James Read, with intent
to murder him; in the second, with intent to do him
some grievous bodily harm ; and, in the third, with
intent to prevent his lawful apprehension and de-
tainer. The case excited the greatest interest in the
county, Read having been one of the most active and
respected officers in the county police . A reward of
1001. had been offered by her Majesty's Government
for the apprehension of the prisoner.
From the evidence it appeared, that in the month
of September, 1848, the prisoner was brought before
the magistrates at Southam, in the custody of Read,
a sergeant, and Smallbone, an inspector of the county
police, upon an information laid by a woman of the
name of Ann Gibbard, charging him with being the
father of an illegitimate female child, of which she
had been lately confined, and which he refused to
maintain. On that occasion, the magistrates made an
order requiring him to pay the sum of ls. 6d. weekly
for the support of the child. It was suggested by the
Learned Counsel in his opening address, that possibly
the malicious feeling which ultimately induced him to
shoot James Head, the sergeant, who had been instru-
mental in bringing him before the magistrates, might
be traced as fez back as to this circumstance. Cer-
tainly it appeared by the evidence of Mr. Alfred
Coles, an ironmonger at Southam, that in the month
of November of that year the prisoner purchased
from him a six-barrelled revolving pistol, and with
which the crime was afterwards committed. In the
month of May following the prisoner was again ap-
prehended, and brought before the same magistrate,
in consequence of his having allowed the weekly pay-
ments for the support of his child to fall into arrear,
but was discharged on payment of the arrears and the
costs. Upon leaving the presence of the magistrates
he was heard to mutter, " Somebody shall pay for
this job." About the middle of June he again went
to Coles's shop, and ordered some bullets to be cast
for the pistol which he had previously bought, and in
a few days after went there again and paid for them,
and took them away. On the 23d of August, the
prisoner having again allowed his weekly payments
to fall into arrear, a warrant fur his apprehension was
placed in the hands of Read, with directions to that
officer to proceed to execute it at Wormleighton, a
village about six or seven miles from Southam, where
the prisoner was living with his father, but em-
ployed by an uncle, who lived at some little
distance. Inquiries which Read made induced him
to secrete himself under a bridge beyond Worm-
leighton, and after remaining there some little time he
perceived the prisoner driving his uncle's waggon,
heavily laden. He accosted him accordingly, and
told him the nature of his errand, which, indeed, the
prisoner seemed quite prepared to expect, but gave him
permission to take his waggon and team to his uncle's
house. They accordingly repaired there together,
and it was remarkable, that although the prisoner
could obtain his discharge by payment of a small sum
of money, and his aunt offered him money to take
with him, he refused to take any. After having some
little refreshment there, Read told the prisoner it wits
time that they should be on their way to Southam.
They set out together accordingly ; but the prisoner
asked permission to go to his father's in order to get
a clean shirt. To this, also, the officer acceded. Upon
arriving there, the prisoner desired to be allowed to
go into a room by himself, but this was refused. The
prisoner, however, was allowed to go into the kitchen
alone, the door remaining open. While there Read
saw him go to a box and take something, which he
could not see, out of the box and put it in his pocket,
at the same time exclaiming " There is no shirt here."
There could not be a shadow of a doubt, however, that
this "something" was the revolving pistol, which he
took this opportunity of providing himself with, and
for the very purpose of shooting the officer. A shirt was
brought to him, and he put it on. During the time
the prisoner's mother brought some refreshments, and
the prisoner helped himself to one or two glasses of
gin. After waiting some little time, Read and his
prisoner proceeded on their way, but the prisoner
begged that he might not be taken through the village
"to be made a show of." Read, however, knew no
other way, but, upon the prisoner undertaking to
show him, he consented. The prisoner accordingly
led him a circuitous route, till they came to the towing-
path of the canal, along which they proceeded.
During all this time they continued to converse in a
friendly manner, on indifferent subjects. The whole
of the conversation was not detailed to the jury, but
from what was given in evidence it was perfectly
clear that the prisoner was well acquainted with the
history of Read's life, and that of his family—that he
well knew that both Read and his brother,
also been in the police, had had their lives exposed,
the one baying been actually shot, and the other very
nearly so, in the execution of their duty. who had
The pri-
soner drew Read on to talk upon these subjects. In
answer to questions obviously put to him with great
art by the
c priscner, Read detailed the cir-
cumstances under which his brother had been
shot by a prisoner in his custody. At last
the prisoner said, that he had lived with a Mr. New -
bold, to which Read answered, "I know him very
well, I was once sent for down there when there was
a disturbance, and-I do not know whether Mr. New-
bold would not have shot me, for he had a gun in his
parlour, and was in a terrible rage." The prisoner
said, " Well, he did not shoot you, then ?" to which
Read answered, " No, I talked to him till he asked
me to come in and have something." The prisoner
again said, " What, then, he did not shoot you ?" and
Read answered, " No," upon which the prisoner, who
was walking on Read's left side, and about a few
inches behind, instantly exclaimed "I will," and dis-
charged his pistol directly at Read, who was not more
than three feet from him. The ball entered imme-
diately behind the Id: ear, passed entirely through
his throat and the root of his tongue, and lodged un-
derneath the right jaw, from which it has never been
extracted. The unfortunate man instantly dropped ;
but, recovering himself for a moment, he perceived
the prisoner standing over him, pointing a six- bar-
reled revolving pistol at his head, exclaiming, " Now
you've gdt it, and I have got some more barrels for
you." Read was just able to lift up his hands
and beg for mercy, when a canal-boat appeared
at some distance. He waved his hand and
became senseless. The prisoner instantly
fled. The steersman of the boat had heard
the discharge of the pistol, jumped ashore, and running
along the bank soon came to the place where Read
lay bleeding, and apparently dying. He, however,
procured medical assistance, and had him conveyed to
Southern. For nine weeks he remained in a state of
great suffering, and for upwards of a fortnight his
recovery appeared perfectly hopeless, insomuch that
his examination was taken as the declaration of a dying
man. When he appeared in the witness-box the effect
of long suffering was still visible in his countenance;
he spoke with great difficulty from partial paralysis of
the tongue ; and the medical witnesses all agreed
that he never could be restored to perfect health.
The prisoner continued to elude all the vigilance of
the police, notwithstanding that a reward of 1001. had
been offered by the Secretary of State for the Home
Department, until the 18th of December last, when
he was captured at Bishop's Castle, in Shropshire,
passing under a feigned name.
Mr. O'BRIEN addressed the jury for the prisoner,
contending that if the prisoner's object had been mur-
der, ample opportunity had been afforded him of coat-
pleting his purpose.
The Learned JUDGE summed up the evidence, and,
after a brief consultation,
The jury returned a verdict of " Guilty of shoot-