The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-19 00:00:00

BOW-STREET.

A young man, named WM. Clarke, was placed before
Mr. Jardine, charged on suspicion of stealing six house
rugs of the value of 30s.
From the evidence it appeared that a day or two ago
the fan-light over the door of Mr. Pugh's shop in Great
Queen-street was broken by some person. This morn-
ing, about half-past three o'clock, police-constable, F 156,
was on duty in Great Queen-street when he saw the
prisoner, and heard him call out in a subdued tone of
voice, " Come on." The officer took no notice of the
prisoner then, but went up to Mr. Pugh's shop-door and
discovered that some one had recently been there, for on
the handle of the door was some mud as though some
person had lately stood upon it. The officer returned to
the spot where the prisoner had been standing and in a
door way he saw the rugs produced. The prisoner
again came up to the spot and asked the officer what
time it was, and he was immediately taken into custody.
One of Mr. Pugh's shopmen stated that the rugs pro-
duced belonged to Mr. Pugh, and were in his shop last
evening. They must have been drawn out of the fan-
light one by one. They must have been drawn out with
some instrument.

The policeman was re-called, and he stated that there
was no other person in the street but the prisoner and
the man whom he called when he said "Come on," but
this man escaped. The hole in the fan-light was about
ten inches in size. The doorway in which the rugs were
found was next door to Mr. Pugh's shop, and the rugs
must have been thrown down as they were taken out of
the fan-light.
The prisoner said he knew nothing about the robbery.
He was merely passing along Great Queen-street on his
road home.

Mr. JARDINE said the case was one of considerable
suspicion, and he should be inclined to remand the pri-
soner if he thought there was any probability of getting
any further evidence. The case, however, was of such

a nature as to render it almost impossible to get further
evidence, and therefore he should discharge the pri-
soner upon his undertaking to appear again if he should
be called upon.—He was then discharged.

CLEI?KENWELL
Mr. Daniel Byrne, a miniature painter, residing in
Duke-street, Museum-street, was charged with annoying
Mr. Stamton, a ger tleman residing in the same street.
It appeared from the evidence that the prosecutor,
under the influence of liquor, went to the door of the
complainant's house at an early hour on the previous
morning, and knocked at it violently. When Mr.
Stamton, who was aroused from his bed, went to the
window and remonstrated with him, the prisoner con-
tinued knocking at the door and using bad language,
until given into custody.
The prisoner said he formerly lodged in Mr. Stamton's
house, but could not account for his conduct.
The MAGISTRATE said he would fine the prisoner ten
shillings, or a week's imprisonment.
The fine was paid.
The following sums have been received for the relief
of' Charles Simmons, the poor cab-driver, whose case
wai mentioned in The Sun of Friday last, in addition to
shose which have been already mentioned in The Sun— I
Henry Bertrand, 14s. ; X. Y. Z., I/. ; a Jew, 10s. ; and
E. T., 11.

QUEEN-SQUARE.
On Tuesday Catherine Stuart, the woman charged at
this Court, on Monday, with the most revolting cruelty
to three young children, the particulars of which

were fully detailed in our last, underwent another
lengthened examination.

The case had been remanded in order to procure
the attendance of Clarissa Tyler, the eldest child,
who had been kept out of the way. She was yester-
day present, but much altered for the better, since her
appearance at this Court when the warrant was issued.

On the accused being brought in from the cells,

Clarissa Tyler, aged thirteen, was put into .
witness-box and sworn. She was evidently inthni
dated, and gave her evidence with much apparent
unwillingness, the following being her answers to the
interrogatories put to her by the Clerk :—I live with
my father, at No. 7, Broadway, Westminster. My
mother has been dead some years. Prisoner has lived
with my father some time, and had care of us children
when he was out. My father, the prisoner, myself,
and my little brother and sister, all lived together in
the same room. My father came home, to his meals
always, and sometiines I dined with them, and some-
times the other children did. At other times we used
to dine when they had done. Sometimes I have had
the same food as they. I complained of the food I
had, but not lately. It was sheep's paunch. It was
only once I complained of sheep's paunch.
The girl's brother, a coal-porter, stood forward and
assured the Magistrate that she was afraid to speak
the truth in the prisoner's presence.
The examination was continued, the girl answering
with even more reluetanc.e than before, the answers
being almost extorted from her :—lt was only once
that I complained of having sheep's paunch. I had it,
and ) did my little brother and sister. I did not dis-
like it. I complained to a person in the house. I
never complained that it Nl' a s nasty, but I didn't much
like it. Prisoner gave us the paunch to eat. She
and my father had some of it fur dinner at the same
time. Prisoner was kind to me when she was sober.
I came here to complain of her because she gave me a
black eye; first she kicked me on the eyes as I was in
bed, and then she came with her double fists. I don't
know why she kicked or struck me. She said nothing
to me before she did it. She did not complain that
I had done anything wrong. She has beaten me before,
but not to mark me. I can't tell what she beat me
for then, she didn't say. My father saw me when he
came home after I had had the black eye, but I don't
know that he said anything. When I came here I did
say I had no flesh upon my bones. I showed my
back at that time, and said I had not had proper or
sufficient food. I suppose I had not had what was
proper. _ _

I%ir. BURRELL having inquired whether the accused
wished to put any questions to the witness, she re-
plied she did, and said, " Now, Clarissa, you know
that we frequently haven't had food to eat ourselves---
haven't we all gone without, your father and all of
us ?" Witness—After a considerable pause, replied,
" Sometimes we have, I can't say."
Prisoner—When we had meat didn't you always
have some ?

A longer pause than before succeeded the inquiry.
Witness—You never kept us without—not always.
When you had some, we had.

Two or three unimportant questions were then put
by the prisoner, which the girl answered readily.
Mrs. Jane Hopkins, who resided in the same house
as the accused, frequently heard the children's screams
and had endeavoured to get at them, but the room
-door was always locked. She had frequently heard
the little boy crying for food, and gave it bread and
butter. If it had more given by her than it could
eat, the child was afraid to take it up stairs, but hid it
behind the street- door. The children always com-
plained of great ill usage, and the hair was pulled off
their heads by handfulls.
Annette Wilson saw prisoner throw scalding broth
over Clarissa Tyler's head and shoulders, and the child
screamed with pain and ran down stairs. She heard
prisoner say that if the girl came in there again she
would jump upon her.
Mr. BURRELL inquired the girl Clarissa's appear-
ance before the prisoner absconded ? Witness replied
that she was literally starved, her bones almost forced
themselves through her skin, and she could not walk
upright nor straight from weakness. Witness added,
that Clarissa always told her she was turned out of
doors at meal times.

Mr. BURRELL—Was the prisoner in the habit of
drinking ? Witness—l never remember to have seen
her perfectly sober.
Mr. BURRELL (to the prisoner)—Should you like
to ask the witness any question ? Prisoner—Oh no,
I'd rather not, she has quite frightened me.
Mr. BURRELL recalled the last witness, and asked
if this cruel treatment was practised in the presence
of the father, or whether he joined in it ? Witness—
It was generally when he was out. I never saw him
join in it.

Caroline Tyler, aged 10 years, was then put in the
witness-box, and said—Prisoner used to beat us very
much, and I have complained to Mrs. Cooper of it,
but she used to beat my sister Clarissa a great deal
more than she did me, and she used to pull her hair
out of her bead. She gave my sister and little bro-
ther and me salted bread and butter. She always had•
the same. We never had any meat. My father and
mother (the prisoner) had meat, but we had not.
Sometimei we had a little broth made of pieces of
meat. My father frequently saw mother beating us,
but he didn't say anything. My father was gone to
work when we had our meals.

Prisoner—Don't you know that the reason was
because we didn't know when he would come home ?
Why don't you speak, dear ?
The child burst out crying.
Prisoner, finding the girl would not give any
answer, changed her tone, and exclaimed " You have
been standing there false swearing yourself."
The whole of the evidence having been read over,
Mr. BURRELL asked prisoner whether she had any-
thing to say ? Prisoner said she owned having been
in the habit of taking a little drink now and then, but
this was altogether a got-up story against her by
Tyler's family, whom she never could satisfy. No
person had ever seen her ill-use the children.
Mr. BURRELL—YOU locked the door when you
committed these violences. You have been guilty of
gross brutality, and I shall commit you for trial for
these cruel assaults. I will take good bail—two
sureties in 1001. each, if you can procure them.
The witnesses were then bound over to prosecute.

VERDICTS OF INSANITY.

At an inquest held by Mr. Wakley, M.P., on the
body of a woman aged 22, a sempstress, who had
taken an ounce of oxalic acid, and who, although she
continued to suffer the most excruciating agony until
her death on Saturday last, did all she could to pre-
vent her life from being saved, and would not
swallow voluntarily tea or coffee, lest some remedy
should be mixed with it, the Coroner said, the de-
termination of some persons to die was wonderful.
Some time since he held an inquest on a woman in
Clarendon-square, who had swallowed the strongest
preparation of sulphuric acid, who had lived nine-
teen hours afterwards, suffering the direst corporeal
torment—for her tongue, palate, throat, and stomach,
must have been seared as if a red-hot iron had
been passed over them—yet she never acknow-
ledged what she had done—kept the act a secret from
her medical attendants; and it was not till after death
that the truth was discovered. " Gentlemen," con-
tinued the Coroner, " the present is one of those cases
in which there is no evidence of insanity, though
some persons think that the very act of taking poison
is an evidence of unsound mind. Such an opinion
is very dangerous, for a person having taken poison,
and labouring under its effects, might commitmurder,
and be on such an opinion acquitted on the plea of
insanity. It will be found that persons who commit
suicide adopt the means best calculated for the end
they have in view. I think it is a very dangerous
practice for coroners' juries to come to the
conclusion that persons who destroy them-
selves are insane. The very same jury may be
called to the Old Bailey, and placed in very great
difficulty in trying a man for murder when insanity
would be pleaded, because no motive for committing
the murder could be proved, and divers eccentricities
could be shown in the previous life of the murderer.
They might be told that they had just before returned
a verdict of insanity in a case of suicide committed
without motive, having taken that as well as previous
eccentricities of character into consideration, and
they might be told that want of motive and eccen-
tricity in case of murder should weigh equally in their
minds, and induce them to record a verdict of insanity,
I want to get rid of the dangerous practice of return-
ing verdicts of insanity when the evidence does not
fully justify them. On the other hand, we are told
that there should be a verdict of self-murder where
there is no evidence of insanity, with the view of pre-
venting suicide by the dread of burial at midnight,
without funeral rites, and in an unhallowed grave—a
very ridiculous and erroneous idea, because I do not
believe that any person so ill-treating his sensitive
body as to commit suicide, cares one straw how that
body b. treated when dead. In the case before you,
I as whether it is possible for you, with the
evidette you have, to determine the state of mind the
woman was in when she took the poison ? I am of
opiniVl that it is impossible, and I think it would be
a mark of insanity to come to any determination of
the Art. lam also of opinion that the proceedings
of our law courts are tinged with insanity. Counsel,
in cases of murder, plead that the murderer acted
under uncontrollable impulses, and the plea succeeds,
and the culprit is pronounced insane and provided for
during life ' • but if a poor lad suffering from hunger,
and I think such privation most likely to produce un-
controllable impulses, steals a loaf of bread, the plea
of insanity will avail him nought, and the House of
Correjtion will be his lunatic asylum. Think you, if
M`Naughten, instead of murdering the unfortunate
Air. Drummond, had stolen his horse, or his ox, or
his ass, or anything that was his, would be guilt-
less of the crime on the plea of insanity ? No, gentle-
men. I advise you, then, in cases of this sort to pass
a medium•verdict—one neither of sanity or insanity."
The jury instantly acquiesced, and said, " Deceased
had destroyed herself, but the state of her mind when
she did eg WM not known to them,"