The Sun.
London, England, 1826-03-25 00:00:00

itiontliat.

LAUNCESTON, NtAttelt

sorgeof, Itgett 52, A man tg ftstpectablt appoarance,
w, indicted for adrainiateriog a quantity (if arMIIC to
fiently' Frances ,Factwife o,FactJroteph Carwith their servant
with intent to poisauta therm, Tile PTlAntler had ha at corimittt
h the Iltagiatratca for thu capital offence under bard Ellen-
s'Y ' t ')I.
boroug..); but t ti 1, inient was Tame. merely what
141.-Sclerneattor at catntrion law. The puisetutar wait ldct
ut
of tho Beard ofilacise, by 31r. Setiettrit
0,41 t)„. dacnee was led hy 3lr. Erskine. As the trial occu.
i,iad 1l hours, and a numb*, witne*tes were 001111111tAt, Wit

PRICE SEYN,PENCET.

shall give n better report of tha case by a general statement
than ;by minute details of,the evidence.
The prisoner wee a gunsmith residing At Woodford, 'in this
county ; (JUL at different times had followed the several 'Deco-
paihnis of a mainiter, a Lipman, and an auttoneer. ep,..
venter wee a* .oflicer of Bulge, in which cstpacity he,ltad
given some information tif the Board, which led to An info..
Mallon again:it the ptirtoner ; and on this account it appears
that, the prisoner had entertained towards the prosecutor
and hit family. In the month of November last, the prose.
castor's wife received by Adams, a carrier between Iliddeford
:Hula town beyond the prosecute is residence, a parcel, with
a note, professing to come from Mrs. Smith, a 611dPkgeePer at ,
Liitltieford, and rutting that the writer begged to send. Mrs.
fleetly a sanipie Of smue good moist sugar, a quantity of which
had just been received, recommending that the-sample should
be, usedby the II aptly, family et their tea; and suggesting, that •
it'it Shoithi he epproved ot, an imnietliete order would be no,
cessary, as the whole stock would otherwise he disported of.—
Although the note did not appear to be in, the hanti.writing of
3lrs. Smith, no ituspicion was entertained 1. and the sugar
was tised by all the family in some coffee. The effects bee
Cattle 81111024 immediately apparent. handy, his Wife, their
infant child, Cerwith *heir servant), and their apptentioe
girl, were all seitted with dreadfill heating pains in the atotnach%
accompanied by drowsiness, anti all the aymptdms generally
attendant upon the taking of Some. poitonous matter. Me-
dical assistance was &kid in thelenteitultr of the ringer
wee examined and analyzed, end it Was found to contain
considerable quantity of arsenic. Thispart of the peso for the
prosecution went to show that the crime charged had been
committed by mime pereon ; snit die neat portion of the evi.
denee was atklueed to connect the prisoner with this offence,
chiefly by showing that he. hail it motive to commit it, and
inclination ass wed as means and opportunity, to stecoinplish it.
I is motive has already ,been mentioned in the fact of his hav-
ing been prosecuted by the Excise on the information of Bendy
and his wife. Ilis inclination, if not his purpose, was shown
by evidence of declarations which he hail made Upon. one occa.
sunt to Athens, the carrier, anti upon se oral others to IleAer,
it superannuated (abet of the Customs, his wife, and several
members of his family. These declarations were made, some
before anti some titer the offence now charged. Alluding to a
journey intended to be taken.by Mrs. lientiy to London, lie had
said, She would do well not to depend on her journey i
she might never be able to snake it." At another time he said
speaking of the whole tinnily, that "he sthould not wonder if
they were shot, poisoned, or murdered in some testy t." at an..
other, that " they would perish like birtia on a twig." And.
in particular, on being informed that the I louly family were
poisoned, he said " he was glad of it , that God',. judgment
trait come upon them in their °ten lonise. .11' he knew who,
was the neat: that had done it, he a euhl give him a glass of
grog." The next piece of evidence consisted of facts, showing
that the prisoner had been near the cart of Adatna,the carrier,
in its route towards *tVoodfortl, the prosectieurss,resitience, and
lied an opportunity to introduce it ; 'for it should here be ob.
nerved, that the parcel found its way into the out, nobody knew
how, though when the carter found it at %%*teniforti in his cart,
he concluded that some One at Ilithleiend find put it in, and he
therefore delivered it as a matter of course' to Mrs. liently, to
witorn it was directed. It wax now proved that the prisoner woe
seen by several persons on the roatiloitering aiiotit,revr the cart,
without any cause assigned,and without any which could fairly be
surmised consistently with his innocence. It was also proved;
that in point of fact., the prisoner had, about a year ago, pur.
chased a pound of arsenic. from A chymist, in Biddeford. This
ovaa proved, not with a view to show the prisoner's intent to
COMM It the offence in question, but merely that it was to be
presumed he had the means in his power. Bttt.the most Wl-
portant fact of all—that upon which the prosecution chiefly
relied, end that which, it proved against the prisoner, rendered
the evidence not circumstantial but conclusive—was the note
which accompanied the parcel. Three witnesses spoke to this
point. They knew the character of the prisoner's handwriting,
and they believed, on the whole, that the note was written by
hint, but they admitted that they had not seen hitn write for
several years ; that the note wits written in a hand not so free
or so good as that which they had known him write; that the
note was tvritten in a feigned hand ; but some of the particular
letter:., and some entire words which they pohlteil out, were, in
!. their judgment, clearly in his handwriting; and from this
they inferred the whole to be so, notwithetanding there being
no siniilitrity through the rest of the note.'
31u. Eitsattssa *spoke very ably end ingeniously its the pri.
etnier% defence, relying principally on slight variance* Which
appeared in the different accounts given by the witnesses who
spoke Of the primmer's declaration, r on the improbability :that
a guilty man would openly and untlisguieedly have made theme
anti on the loose and unsatisfactory evidence which he said had
been given of the prisoner's hand-writing.
Mr. SEtW YN (in the absence of Mr. Sergeant Wide) re.
plied upon this defence, contending that the slight variances in
question were rather confirmatory of the witnesses, than other-
wise. They all agreed upon the main circumstances which
were likely to impress themselves upon the mentary, and
varied 'only in those which were not so likely to make that
impression. That the prisoner should be so indiscreet as to
make the declarations in question was only annthereinstanots
that which occurred every day in the progr,* of crime: the
thief, for instance, generally by his own txmiltret furnishing the
means of his own detection. And with reSpect, tai the eildence
of the hut writing, it was such as was generally stud of faeces.
shy given in such 018011 positive proofs never being within
reach, and therefore never required by law.
Mt. Justice lie IL liolloll summed up the evidence, concur-
ring in the legal positions advanced, by Mr. Selwyn in reply.
The dory found the prisoner '(unto; and the Cotirt en,
tented Met lie should be imprisoned for 3 years ; and nuttier
until he riltottid give security to keep the ,peace towards the
ilendy fernily fot 5 years, hitnielf in 500/.4 and two securities
in 200/. each.