The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-12 00:00:00

ress) found a treat quantity of duplicates for bedding.
' and children's ~!otl, the tia:l ::ohin t! car,
but a rag. A owe found, cuilipall,l:ig G 3 Irts',
There were two shees of bread uud a Small quantity or tea in
the cupboard; sufficient only for a very scanty meal. She
said that she commenced murdering the boy, and heard the
,/ clock strike four, and killed the other child afterwards; that
sl:e heard her husband go in, but could not move. She ap-
peared to be in greet mental agony.
Mr. George Warman, relieving officer for Deptford, deposed
that he went at half-past six, and saw Mr. Dickenson, who
said, that when he went home he thought the family had gone
.to bed, in consequence of being without firing. Was quite
satisfied that was not the fact.
A juror said, that question must be distinctly understood, ai
it had gone forth that relief had been refused.
Mr. Warman said that he had not been applied to, directly
or indirectly, and it was very painful to him that such a report
should have gone forth, as through the day he had been pointed
at in the streets, and told that he was the murderer of the
children.
The CORONER said there was no imputation on the relieving
officer.
Mr. Hills said, she stated that after having cut the throate
of the children she fell back exhausted, and was unable to com-
plete her own destruction. After the children were taken away
she said she was sorry. A groat deal had transpired in con-
versation, and the mother said that on the previous afternoom
she had taken the boy on her knee to effect her purpose, but
her heart failed her.

Mr. Warman hoped that, as strong opinions had been es. •
pressed, the gentlemen of the jury would declare in his favour.
The CORONER said there was no ground for complaint.
The jury said they were quite satisfied.
Dr. Arthur, in answer to a question by the Coroner, said
that there was every probability that the unfortunate woman '•
would recover by proper attention, if she were removed.
Mr. George Dickenson, uncle f the deceased, said that he
advanced 511/. to his brother in July, 1839, who, up to the
present time, had been very unfortunate. The witness seemed
deeply -affected.
The CORONER. addressed the jury on the evidence, and said
that, under all the circumstances, there could scarcely be
doubt that the unfortunate female was the person who had 4
inflicted the wounds. They could not consider whether she
was in a sound state of mind at the time or net. Her own
declaration or confession was made entirely voluntarily. He
did not wish to call upon her husband to give evidence on.
which his wife would be convicted. But no less than eight,
witnesses had spoken to admissions made at different times
by her, that she was the only party who had committed the
offence.

A Juror said that, if the woman died, he should hay. come'
to a conclusion that she had committed suicide when in a state
of temporary insanity. Under such circumstances he could not
conscientiously return a verdict of wilful murder.
The CORONER said there was no evidence to show any aber.
ration of intellect, but the contrary. The jury, therefore,
could not give way to mere feelings of humanity. His duty
was quite as painful as theirs, and he only propounded the law
to them.
Mr. White, a juryman, said that, much as he respected the
Coroner's opinion, he would not, when he was on the jury, re•
turn a verdict contrary to his conscience.
Shortly after ten o'clock the jury requested the room to
be cleared, and about half-past eleven the Court was JO..
opened, and

The CORONER. announced that the jury had returned a
verdict of Wilful Murder against Sarah Diokenson.
The Foreman—At the same time we say that the eona►itted
the offence whilst in a state of great mental anxiety, brought
on by extreme distress.
The Rev. Messrs. Ffinch and Sketchley, the Rectors of St.
Paul and St. Nicholas, Deptford, have most assiduously at-
tended the unfortunate woman, and Mr. Ffineh remained with
her until after the inquiry terminated. It was announced last
night that such a change had taken place as to preclude every
prospect of her recovery.
IN

STITU'PION OF CIVIL EN-
GINEERS.
JAN. 9.—The first meeting of the season was
held on Tuesday evening, the 9th inst., the Pre-
sident in the chair. During the recess several al-
terations have been made in the rooms of the
Society. Along the sides of the gallery have
been placed some handsome cast iron open-work
shelves and brackets, cast and presented by.
Messrs. Ransome and May, of Ipswich, ior sup-
porting a series of busts of eminent enineers
and scientific men, and the theatre has been
properly lighted and ventilated.
The first paper read was by Mr. John &Ores ;
it described a combination of cast and wrought
iron used in some bridges on the line of the
Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway, A
general review of the usual construction and ex-
pense of occupation bridges of brick, stone, tim-
ber and cast iron, was given, showing their,de-
fects. In order to obviate these objects the
author has introduced combined trussed beams
of cast and wrought iron, which he contended
might be advantageously adopted, and that
bridges could be thus constructed at a less cost
ihan those of stone, brick, or even. of timber.
The structure described consisted of longitudinal
segmental girders of cast iron, resting on ma .i•
sorry abutments. A system. of wrought iron'tie •
trussings was applied, and struts were placed
where requisite, to receive the pressure. When •
more than one principal truss was necessary,
they were connected by transverse braces and
distant pieces of cast iron, sockets being cast
upon the girders to receive the timber joists,
upon whichDantzic timber planking was spiked.
The next paper read was a " Description of
Cast-iron Bridge over the Avon, near Tewkes-
bury, on the line of the Birmingham and
Gloucester Railway," by Captain W. S. Moorsom,
Assoc. Inst. C. E. The principal novelty of this
work, which was proposed and its execution
superintended by Mr. Ward, of Falmouth, is
the mode of constructing the two piers, which
were externally of cast iron, in the form of
caissons, each weighing about twenty-eight tons.
The plates comprising each caisson, were put
together on' a platform erected upon piles over
the site t,f the pier. The bottom of the river
being levelled by a scoop dredger, the .eaisson
was lowered, and sonic clay being- thrown
around the exterior, a joint was formed, so
nearly water tight, that two small pumps drained, •
it in six hours. The foundation being then .ex.•
cayated to the requisite depth, the caisson, whiclb,
sank as the excavation proceeded, was filled
with concrete and masonry. Cap-plates were
then fixed for supporting eight pillars with an
entablature, to which was attached the end of
the segmental arches, 57 feet span, with a versed
sine of 5 feet 2 inches. There were three of
these arches, each formed of six ribs of cast
iron, and two such piers as have been described,
the land abutments being of stone work joining
the embankment of the railway. It was stated
that this mode of 'construction was found to be
more economical in that peculiar situation than
the usual method of fixing timber coffer-dams
and building the piers within them; the total
cost of the bridge being only 10,1921., and the
navigation of the river was not interrupted during
the progress of the work. The paper was illus-
oaten oy 18 remarkably well executed drawing.: •-1;
by Mr. Butterton. - . . ,v;•
A paper by G. W. Hemans, Grad. Inst. C.B.s
descriptive of a wrought-iron lattice bridge,
erected across ' the line of the Dublin and v
Drogheda Railway, was then read. This bridge,
Which in construction is similar to the wooden
lattice bridges of America, only substituting
wrought-iron for timber, is situated about three
miles from Dublin, over an excavation of 36 feet
in depth; its span is 84 feet in the clear, and the
two lattice beams are set. parallel to each. other,
resting at either end on plain stone abutmentS
built in the slope. These beams are 10 feet ii'
depth, and are formed by a series of flat -iron
bars, 21 inches wide by I inch thick, crossing
one another, at an angle of 45 deg.; at 5 feet 6
inches above the bottom edge transverse bearers
of angle iron are fixed similar to those now used. for: supporting the decks of iron stearnsv.esSelst•' and upon these the. planking for the:-.roadway is • fastened. The account of the mode' of construe' "
tion, and of the raising and fixing the lattice:
beams, by Messrs. Perry, of Dublin, the con-
tractors, was given in detail, and the author
stated that, although it was expected that con-
siderable deflection would occur, which was pro-
vided for by forming the beams with a curve of
12 inches in the centre, they did not sink at all;
even when heavy weights passed over them.
The total cost of the structure, including t1;43
masonry of the abutments, was 5101. It was
stated that this bridge had been erected by Mr.
M'Neill, M.LC.E., in order to test the sound-
ness of this kind of structure before he applied it
in a bridge of 240 feet span, to carry the Dublin
and Drogheda Railway over a canal.
The meeting adjourned to January 16, when it
was .announced that the annual meeting would
be
held for the election of the council and officers.

BIRTHS.
At Guernsey, the lady of 11Iajor O'Brien, Royal Irish Full'
liers, of a son.
On the sth inst., Mrs. R. C. Carpenter, Guildford-street,
Ruisell•square, of a daughter.
On the 9th inst., at Gloster Lodge, Hendon, Mrs. R. C•
Yarborough, of a daughter.
On the 10th inst., at Mornington-road, the widow of Robert King,
Esq., late British Vice-Coniul at Port-an-
Prince,
Hayti, of a posthumous daughter.
On the 10th inst. at Farnham, Surrey, the lady of Charlel
Alexander Holcombe, Esq., of a daughter.

MARRIED.
At St. George's Church, Hanover-square, Colonel Sir Due'
Can ,MacDougall, K. C. 8., late commanding the 79th Regiment
of Highlanders, to Hannah, widow of the late Colonel Nichol'
son; of the Lancashire Militia.
On the 9th inst., at Bangor Cathedral, T. J. Maud., Est:
of Abingdon-street, Westminster, to Louisa Emily, youngest
daughter of the Rev. John Hamer, Vicar of Bangor.
On the 10th inst., at Trinity Church, Bath, the Rev. Cluirle°
Kingsley, son of the Rev. Charles Kingsley, of St. Luke's,
Chelsea, to Frances Eliza, youngest daughter of the late r•
Grenfell, Esq.

DIED.
At Phoorsungey, near Poonah, Jane Mary, the wife of
Fisher,Lieute Esq.,
nantLarnbart Scott, Bombay Army.
At Neampore, Plt engal, bert James, younger son of R•of Hamilton-terrace, St. John's-wood. On the 7th inst., at Barbourne Cottage, Worcester, Robert
Haliburton, Esq.
On the Bth inst., at Hudleigh, the Rev. William Powell- On the Bth inst., at Swansea, the Rev. G. AI. Maber, A ,
Rector of Merthyr-Tidvil, Glamorgan, aged 78.
On the 10th inst., Air. Thomas Torn, of Peckham-gr°l6
Catiaberwell.•

Dion : Printed and Published by AIURDO YO UNG ,'
112, Strand, at The Sun Office No. 112; Stritiagsis
,tb County of Middlesex, Friday, Janiary 12, Mb.