The Sun.
London, England, 1850-03-29 00:00:00

tel down on Friday. She spoke very sensibly to me,
and to the best of my belief she was sober. I had been
in the service of the prisoner about a week, and
when I first went I noticed that sho had
a black eye, but no cuts such as I saw in the morning in
the parlour.
By the MAGISTRATE—I did not say before the coroner
that I saw the prisoner strike 1 er on Saturday afternoon,
Mary Anne Bryant, wife of Charles Bryaut, of
Middlesex-street, S oeters Town, called on the deceased
on Saturday from one to halt-past in the afternoon. I
was her resond cousin. I saw Mrs. Muir in the parlour,
and shortly after I entered the prisoner came in. She
appeared to be very poorly, and asked me to request the
prisoner, whom I call uncle, to let her lie down, adding
she had not been to bed all night, and if she had an
hour's sleep she would be better and fit for the shop. I
asked the prisoner, but I did not say that she told me to
do so, and he said " This is Saturday, and she must mind
the shop." She remained about the place after that
and did not lay down, and I left her about half-past
three. I saw the prisoner box her ears; be said the
reason he did taewas because he found a bottle containing
about half a pint of gin under the pianoforte, which he
knew had been hid from him. He then said, addressing
himself to me, that his wife said to him the night pre-
viously that she was glad ho had come in, as she had
got some soles for his supper, and immediately after-
wards he discovered the bottle, and asked her where she
had got it from, and she replied the " Cheshire Cheese."
He then said be asked her why she had not shut up the
shop as he had requested her, to which she replied she
had tried but could not. He also added that ho had
been out two hours, and was very vexed at finding the
shop not shut up and the goods in the window. This was
said in the presence of the deceased, and she denied having
got the gin from the Cheshire Cheese, but said she got
it from Middle-row, Holborn. I said, "You could not
have gone there for it, therefore you had better admit
who did bring it to you." She said she was positive
she had got it from there. I said my opinion was, that
a Mrs. Dow had brought it in with the soles. The
prisoner was in a passion at the time, and I saw
him box her ears. He then pushed her and
kicked her behind. It was not done in a
gentle manner, as he was very angry. (Wit-
ness was here cautioned by the magistrate to speak
the truth.) After that she went into her room to dress
herself, and I went with her, and saw several bruises on
her head and face. She was black and blue, and sore all
over, and said her head was very painful. She asked me
to wash her head, and Icalled the man to bring ap a quart
of water fur the purpose; I gave her the water, and said
I could not wash it, as I could not bear to see such a
sight, and I asked her to do it herself. I then weet to
the prisoner and told him of the wounds, and he said;
" Oh, go and look at her, for I am afraid I have hurt
her." I said to her you ought to let her lie down, but
I don't recollect if he gave me any answer. When
I was going away she said " Oh, don't leave me." I
returned between 5 and 6. and found her, as I supposed,
most dreadfully Lipsey. I saw the prisoner go in about
a minute or two before me. He said to her, " Here's a
dreadful thing—a lot of bread has been brought up, and
none of it has been put in the window or sent to the cus-
tomers." I saw him then box her ears two or three titres
with his open hated, and tell her to put the bread in the shop
window, but in attempting to do so she fell down. As
she fell she cut her eye against some brass in the window,
and the blood gushed out dreadfully. I asked the pri-
sener to pick her up, and he said he would not, and that
she might lay there. She recovered for a few moments,
and said, " I am in a fit, and a very bad fit too, and far
God'6 sake do not leave me Marianne." I then left her
in the parlour, and did not see her again until a short
time afterwards when she was standing by the sink. I
saw her fall gently down by the side of it, and rest her
head on the ledge. She remained in that position about
two hours. It struck me that bed would bo the
best place for her, but I did not say to to
the husband, as they lived so unhappily,
and I did not think it advisable to interfere between
them. She was then placed in bed in the kitchen, but
Ido not know who assisted her to it. I remained till
near one o'clock on Sunday morning, and she remained
insensible during the whole time. I saw her the next
morning about eight o'clock. I was sent for, and I
found her in the same insensible state. I asked the priso-
ner if any medical man had ;been to her, and he said no.
A Mr. Watkins or a Mr. Wilson was a'terwards sent
for, and he came and looked at her and then went away.
I remained all Sunday with her, and called again on
Monday morning about eleven, when she was dead. The
prisoner seemed very much cut up, but he did not speak
to me about her. The deceased was 39 years of age.
Cross-examined—l called at the shop for the last six
weeks by the request of the prisoner, as his wile was
very much given to drink. At the time she fell in the
shop my opinion is that she cut her eye by filling on an
upright brass rod.
Elizabeth Meudes—l am a cousin of the prisoner,
and lodged in his house. My husband is a general
dealer. I was near the parlour door between
time and fire o'clock on Saturday morning, and in
consequence of something I heard, I was induced to stop
there and listen. I heard Mr. and Mrs. Moir making a
noise; she was screaming and saying, " Ohl you'll kill
me!" and I heard him say, "Yes, I will murder you be-
fore I have done with you." I heard one of the children
scream out, "Father, fattier, you'll kill my mother."
I did no: strike at the dour, or give any alarm,
because I had heard similar noises frequently before.
I have had no communication with the prisoner about
the death of his wife. I heard no blows, but I did hear
some scuffling in the room.
Cross-examined—l can't say that she was a sober
woman. I have been in the house two months, but I
never saw her intoxicated during that time.
Thomas John Muir, aged seven, and son of the pri-
soner, said—l remember being in the room with my fatter
and mother on Saturday. They quart ailed, and he took
hold of her with the one hand, and with the other
thumped her on the back and face, and kicked her be-
hind. Before he commenced to beat my mother, he said
wicked words—one of them was "ll you." My mo-
ther, on being beat, screamed out " Oh." I cried when
I saw her beat. My mother did not strike him, but
kept crying. Before they went to bed he beat her again.
Cross-examined—l never saw my mother drunk.
When a medical man was sent ter, my littler assisted
my cousin to put some leeches on my mother's head.
Mary Ann Bryant (re-called)—Said the last witness
and his little brother were present when the prisoner
was beating his wife on Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Joshua Watkins, surgeon—l live at No. 11, Chan-
dos-street. I was called in to ace the deceased on
Sunday morning, when I found her in an insensible
stare in bed. Iler head, face, and neck were greatly
awoken, and her features were very much distorted. The
prisoner was looking on when I examined her, and I told
him her case was a very serious one, and I feared it
would terminate fetelly. I applied the necessary reme-
dies, but death supervened. I afterwards opened the
body, and it was perfectly healthy with the exception
of the contusions on the neck and back, at the lowest
part of which there were marks, as if blows and kicks
had been used. They did not appear to have been pro-
duced by a fall. On opening the head, and removing
the skull-cap, I found considerable extravavation
of blood, and on the outer covering of the
brain, and on the right hemisphere of it, there
were five or six ounces of coagulated blood. There
was not the slightest moll of spirits in the stomach.
The lungs were highly congested, but ' teerwie free
from disease. I do not think she could have been a
drunkard. The immediate cause of death was compres-
sion of the brain. The brain itself was perfectly healthy.
The compression of the brain must no doubt have been
produced by external injuries.
Cross-examined—l think the compression would not
have been produced by a fall.
Police-constable F 17 said, be 'apprehended the pri-
soner at his own house about half-past four on Monday
last, hut he said nothing.
This closed the evidence.
After the usal caution was given to the prisoner by
the Magistrate, he said—All I have to say is, that the
whole ut the evidence is false.

An application was made to allow the prisoner to
give bail for his appearance, but Mr. Hall proremptorily
refused the application.
He was then fully committed to take his trial at the
next Old Bailey sessions for murder. Throughout the
proceedings he evinced the utmost coolness, and did not
appear at all affected by his perilous situation.
[We regret to state that owing to the manner
in which the evidence was taken it was impossible for
the reporters to hear it with any degree of accuracy. In
a case of so much importance we should have thought
that the too-frequent custom of examining the witnesses
in a low, conversational tone, intelligible only to the ma-
gistrate and clerk, would have been dispensed with, not
only for the aid of the reporters, but for the satisfaction
of the public who thronged the court.]