The Sun.
London, England, 1826-01-28 00:00:00

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CORON- Eit'S 1 NQUESTA. •• • -
the
. . ...„
INFANTICIDE.
Yesterday evening an InqUisition was taken at the Eleplfant
and Castkpublic.hrnise, the Kingaland-road, before .1, W.
ofU titre ibai'enovrgEideinyfasgi innosb.f::ftcaietri
hnlemifi:el
c occasionedal
elaC°liet.ttooi,ionnontifufe
one nt
to which
yywdoitual onnrefrwa inconsideratesl. V abbe leen s 1.4; ed)rner q u
Wednesday, under circumstances strongly indicative of its
e
it the lightest appellation, refer
tenmiatelateae:itrreoinlrnrttaysi
cr
give
liad'returned; after viewing the 'body, which' lay nt-the
July of one of the witnesses. When the
•watchhouse, and 'which was in a high state of decornpoeition,
the fellowing was the evidence provided for their consider-.
tion
John Rice examined,--I am a labourer, and reside
chard-street, Kingsland-road. The day before yesterday I was
employed by my father to cleanse the privy at the back of his
house ; as I was pushing a pole tin the drain to clear the en-.
trance, something opposed it; 1, in consequence got a 'hoe,
with which I pulled out the deceased, which upon gist obsery
ing.l thought was a cat. I Called nut to my brother to bring
a pail of water, with which we washed it, and then discoVered
it was a child. It was wrapped up in a piece of cotton and a
carpet, and had a large stone of about a quarter of a hundred
weight tied to its belly.
Coroner—Do you know any child being lately born in the
neighbourhood i 3• • -•
Witness--I do not. The drain of the privy is connecteti
with that of the two adjoining houies. Illy father resides in
one, and a person of the name of Glover in the other. Ills
wife was brought to bed about four months since, and has the
child now in her arms.
Islr. William Robinson examined—l am the parish-surgeon,
and reside in the Kingsland-road. I saw the deceased the
night before last, and dissected it this morning by the Coroner's
directions. It is. a new-born male infant, and it may be about
A month since its birth. It is in an extremely putrescent state,
in consequence of which 1 could not see if there were any
marks of violence. hadlirrived at fall maturity ; the unibid
heal cord was untied, which makes it probable that its mother
had delivered herself. From the putrescency of the lungs, I
cannot say if it was born alive; they floated when placed in
water. It is a full-grown child, and might have died tor want
of due care to the mother. There were marks of dis-
colouration ; but whether arising from putreacency or violence,
it is difficult to determine. 1 have no suspicion of any one
being secretly delivered in this neighbourhood, nor have I heard
it reported. 1 cannot state, from an examination of the body,
that there are reasons to conclude that the deceased was mur-
dered.

Mary Ringrose examined.—l am the wife of William
Ringrose, a brlckmaker, and live at No. 1, Providence-road.
I know Mary Malcolm, and have known her since she was
ten years of age • she used to live with her mother, at Mr.
Parks's, New-buildings, until about a fortnight ago, when
she went into service at llsiston. She lived near my house.
I had a conversation with her six weeks before Christmas
about her being with child; my husband was playing with
her; she said he gave her a violent blow in the side, in conse-
quence of which she sat down on the foot of the bed, and nearly
tainted away. She said nothing-to me that evening, but merely
good night as she was going home. She returned to my house
the next day, and then said that she had been severely hurt.
I asked her what was the matter, and she answered that she
was really in the family way. I asked her if she was married,
and she replied she was. I then told'her if such was the case
she had no occasion to go to service, I asked her who was
the father of the child, and she said it was a person of the
name of George, but
,1 forget the surname which she added to
it. I Asked her where she was married, and she 'answered at
the New Church, and that as she had not been ever christened
she got that ceremony performed at the sane time. 1 asked
her to show me the certificate, and she promised that she
would bring it the next day. She, lioWevr, did not then
come, and I did not see her again until a fortnight after Christ-
mas. Her shape was then much altered, and I asked her for
the child, and what became of her big belly : she replied, " I
have lost the little b—, the little b----- is gone."l said
to her, Oh, Mary. I could not lose mine so, and told her, as
I did before, that if she wished it, 1 would
,have brought it up
as I would my own, and that she might agave been confined
upon the sly.
Juror—Did you ask her where it was buried, oe where she
lay in ? •
Witness--I did not. I have mentioned all that passed. She
is about 23 years of age, and with her mother was very intimate
with Mrs. Glover, in the privy connected with whose house the
deceased was discovered.

Mary Oliver, examined—l live in the linuse next to that
in which the deceased was I,und. I do not know how it got
there. lam quite ignorant of Mary 11Ialcohn having a child,
or that she was pregnant. I saw nu :duration in her shape ;
She used to conic and go occasionally like any other neighbour.
I have had no private conversation with her. She was in the
habit of calling once a week. I know of no young man who
used to keep her comany. I have been acquainted with her
ever since she was a child.

_ .....
Jurore.-klave you any suspicion of any person on either aide
of your house having been lately delivered ? .
Witness—None whatever, Juror-..Wi1l you take upon you to sweat that you hive not,
since lust night, heard a report of another person, 1 do not
mean Alulcohn—being the parent of the deceased?
The witness seemed. to hesitate at this question, and the
Coroner said, that he did not think it, by any means a fairone.
The Juror replied that he thought the question necessary to
the elucidation of troth, and saw, no impropriety in putting it,
The Coroner said, that even had she heard of another person,
it was a mile rumour, and as such could not be corivertkd into
evidence ; he would, however, its the Jury, expressed. a. wish on
the subject, put it.
The question was then put, and the witness, utter taking
due time to deliberate, asserted positively that she never heard
report of any person being the mother. of the child hut .Niety
Malcolm, or that any female in the veil hbOurliuud beer,
confined.

Tim Juror----- observed, that his' object in putting the goes.
was, that if it turned out that a female lately had a child,
she could, if it was not living, account how it had been dispovtil
of, and if not, that then strong grounds of suspitian mast at-
tach to her as being the mother of the deceased. Thtre Nag,
he said, very prevalent iIIrIIOUTS abroad, that fcantile of the
name of.llary sims, a near neighbour of Mrs. Otover's, heti
been lately confinetl,'und thut her offlpring was onatcounted
for.

The Coroner—lf if .the opiniOn of the Jury that an ad-
journment should take place, to affbrd tithe for further in-
-1 (wiry, I am most ready to comply with it. - As a pUhlieotficer
my time is theirs; but I will confess, though we should, adopt
such a measure, that I do not see how vie can ,errive at ,u
clearer exposition of the faela than we hive tori-befoie'os
nothing has been elicited that oan bring borne the crime of
',murder to the female Maleolon, though that ,ixturder has
been committed there can be little coal,:, and of which the
heavy atone attached to the infant affords li:r(mg'presiutipti; e
proofs. The fit coarse in mind ice puestte..is,.to bring in
verdict of wilful murder against some: person.or persons ur.
known, thus leaving it open to bring sue li peranna as suspicion
may attach to before a magistrate, ivitere a fail investigation
would take place t but if, as I have before said, you wisirto
joprri the proceedings, lam ready to tip so.
It being understood that the mother 6r Mary Malcolm was
present, the jury expressed a wish to have her examined, and
said that on her testimony,, coupled with,-the foregoing, they
would find their verdict. She 'COS then cased in, ong opcood
to the follaWing effect : •
I am mother to Mary Malcolm. I do not knoW.of her having
been pregnant. She went to service, on ll'LleeLlay week. She
always lived with me except nit odd occretieur. I have seta
her constantly. 1 can swear tr.ost solemnly that, to the best
of my knowledge, she never had child, nor' was pregnant.
know of no young man .that used to keep her cempany. ne-
vet saw the least altc:etion in he: shape.
31r. William lqibinson, the surgeon, who fortnnotelrilip-
pened not to leave the inguest,rootne came forward, andAu
corroboration of this testimony, etatetl, that he had, an the
evening before the last, examined the persod or the Respected
femitie„Nlary Malcolm, and found. no appearance whatsoever
to warrant the supposition that she had ever borne a child.
The Jury here expressed their satisfociion that the inno-
cence of the poor girl was, so clearly established ; wad on the
previous recommendation or the Coroner, returned a verdierof
Murder" 4,1041-Ist some person or persons,tinknown,

ETYmor.oo v.—We pickM up the, "following
singular ,etymology.the other day' from fin old
paper.—The word news is not derived, as qui ny
suppose, from the adjective not., title froin a prac-
tice that obtained in rieWspariPrs of an early date
of prefixing to the title the letters eipte:,,:.,ivo of
the four cardinal points, thus

meaning, that their intelligence was derived from
' all quarters of the globe.' This mutt be allow►,
ed to be at least an ingenious /etymology,