The Sun.
London, England, 1850-09-06 00:00:00

SEPTEMBER 6, 1850.

POISONINGS AT CLAVERING.
GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.
NEwro:.T, EssEx, SEPT. 4. .No trifling sensa-
tion has been caused in this district by the apprehen-
s.on of Sarah Chc.sham, who at the spring assizes
for the county in 1848 was tried and acquitted of the
murder of her two children. The arrest took piece
at the instance of the Secretary of State, on suspicion
of her h eying destroyed her husband, Richard Chesham,
by administering arsenic. At the gaol of this place
this day she underwent an examination before Mr. B.
Wolfe and Captain Henry Byng.
It appeared that after the prisoner was acquitted
she returned to the village, where there seems to have
been some gossip about poison, and how bad hus-
bands could be got rid of. About three or four
months ago the husband of Sarah Chesham was sud-
denly taken ill. He was a farm-labourer, and ac-
cording to the statement of the neighbours was con-
sidered a healthy sort of man. He died, how-
ever, and Mr. Lewis, the coroner, made another
attempt to uproot the mystery attending these
secret and diabolical acts of poisoning. The
contents of the body were forwarded to Mr.
Taylor for analysation, and at the sittings of the
coroner's jury there was a vast amount of prevarica-
tion among the witnesses, with a view, apparently, of
screening the guilty party. Mr. Superintendent
Clarke, of the Essex constabulary, on searching her
cottage found a beg containing rice. She informed
the superintendent that it was her father's, and she
hoped that he would not take it away. He, however,
disappointed her; the rice was sent to Mr. Taylor,
for examination, and that gentleman found arsenic in
a powder mixed up with it. Several witnesses spoke
of the deceased being seized with the symptoms at-
tending the administration of arsenic, and his violent
purging and vomiting a day or so befere his death.
The mother of the deceased swore positively that she
had seen the prisoner give him some rice, the last
time about four days before he died; but upon the
prisoner being asked whether she had any state-
ment to make, she denied that he ever had any.
The most important witness, however, was a woman
named Hannah Phillips. This person has since
made a different and far more conclusive statement
egainst the prisoner, which she solemnly swears is the
correct one, but which she was afraid of giving lest
she sustained the injury she was threatened with had
she done so. Her former story was that she met the
prisoner crying about the loss of her children, and
that she would never get over it. She added that she
had hidden the poison under a tub in a neighbour-
ing lane, that she had had a deal of trouble, and that if
anybody asked her (witness) about it, she was to
deny all knowledge of it. Other parties made
doubtful statements before the coroner's jury, and
then came the rather delicate testimony of Professor
Taylor to convict upon. He found the presence of
arsenic in the stomach of the deceased, but the quan•
tity found was not sufficient for him to say that it had
caused death.
In this difficult position the jury did not feel them-
selves justified in returning such a verdict as would
send the case elsewhere.
The Coroner suggested, however, that the magis-
trates might probably proceed against her for ad-
ministering the poison with intent ; and in order to
carry that into effect, the depositions were forwarded
to them.
The bench of magistrates for the district then re-
solved upon making an effort in solving the mystery,
which appeared to defeat every inquiry. The con-
duct of different parties was watched, and at length
an important piece of information was elicited from
Hannah Phillips, the witness previously alluded to.
She stated that in course of conversation the prisoner
alluded to the ill-treatment she (Phillips) had received
from her husband, and that she (prisoner) would not
have lived with her husband if he had treated her in
the same way. She added that she ought to do what
she bed done, make him up a pie of sheep's liver,
lights, &c., and that if she brought it down to her
(prisoner) she would season it for her. Mrs. Phillips
made some additions to her testimony with reference
to the arsenic being hidden under the tub, and the
secrecy the prisoner enjoined upon her.
These with other new facts were submitted to Sir
G. Grey, the Secretary of State, with a view of as-
certaining from the law officers of the Crown their
opinion as to the best course to pursue in the matter,
more especially in suppressing the abominable sys-
tem. The whole of the evidence was laid before the
Attorney and Solicitor-Generals, who expressed an
opinion that sufficient had transpired to warrant a
re-investigation at least of the last case. Accordingly
the magistrates acted, and a warrant was placed in the
hands of Mr. Clarke, the superintendent, and on
Monday evening the prisoner was arrested at her
cottage in Clavering, and conveyed to the gaol of this
town, and being of a methodistical turn of mind, as
she states, she immediately repaired to the Bible.
Whc,n before the magistrates, and more particu-
larly while the woman Phillips was giving her addi-
tional evidence, she exhibited much uneasiness. On
the witness concluding her testimony, the prisoner
said that she could tell the truth as well as Mrs
Phillips, and the fact was she (Mrs. Phillips) had ap.
plied to her for a poisoned pill. She asserted her in-
nocence of having caused her husband's death.
Mr. Superintendent Clarke, and Mr. IVellings, re-
lieving overseer, having repeated what they adduced
at the coroner's inquiry, and some other facts bearing
upon the case, the bench remanded the prisoner for
the purpose of enabling the police to procure the at
tendance of other important witnesses.