The Sun.
London, England, 1828-03-24 00:00:00

LENT ASSIZES.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.-LANCASTER, MARCH ~0.
mumm. OF A FATHER. AND MOTHER BY THEIR DAUCLITER.

,H.

Jane Scott, aged 21, was indicted for the wilful
murder of her mother, Mary Scott, by administering
arsenic to her on the 14th May last, at Preston.—
' The prisoner was tried at the last ASsizes for the
' murder of her father, but acquitted. It appeared
that on Sunday the 14th May, the deceased Mary
Scott and her husband drank tea with several of
• their friends, of which the prisoner was of the party;
they then appeared in good health. On the follow-
, ing evening the prisoner went to the house of some
of the neighbours in Preston, and entreated them to
come to her mother's house, and said that her
father and mother had been taken very. ill since
they took their porridge. Several persons imme-
diately ran to the house, and found the deceased
and her husband vomiting, and apparently labour-
ing under the effect of poison. Every means were
resorted to, to preserve their lives, but they both died
shortly afterwards. The deceased said, in the pre-
sence of her husband and the prisoner, that they
were poisoned ; that they had taken porridge, and
that they got ill immediately. The prisoner then
said that she would be quit of the porridge, and took
up the bason that had the porridge in it ; her father
told her not to throw it out, but she did not mind
what was said to her, and returned soon after with
the empty basin. Upon her brother taxing her with
having poisoned their parents, she strlck a• d abused
him, and said that she would poison his wife. A
druggist at Preston proved that about two months
before the circumstance took place, the prisoner
purchased at his shop a quarter of a pound of arsenic;
she said she wanted to poison rats, for they eat her
father's
,bread and cheese ; he at first hesitated
to let her have it, until she said that she lived
at a shop in Bridge-street, and: that her name
was Scott. :In a fortnight after she purchased an
ounce and a half more, and in -three days before
her mother's death she purchased another ounce and
a half; she said she wanted it to put in whitewash
to poison bugs; he put a label on it with the words
"arsenic, poison," on it; he told her it was poison,
and that she should be very careful how she used it.l
Upon examining the house, it appeared not to have
been ,white-washed in any way, nor was any arsenic
or rat-holes found. It further appeared that the pri!
soner has received the visits of a man named George
Richardson, but on account of kis poverty he was
unable to marry her. Three days before the death
of her parents, she called Richardson into the house,
and asked him when he would marry her ; he said
he had nothing to marry her with, nor she either;
she then told him that she w3lld have all the
furniture in the two houses, meaning her father's house
and the house behind it; and that her parents had
made it all over to her. Whilst her parents were
labouring under the effects of the poison, she said
she was going to Manchester, and that she would
come back wedded in a few days ; that she would
sell the house in Bridge-street, and go to Liverpool
and get into some sort of business. The medical
gentleman who had attended the deceased and her
husband examined the pan in which the porridge had
been made, and found about an ounce and a half of
the porridge at the bottom; he desired, in the hear-
ing of the prisoner, that the pan should be put
aside, that he might examine it at leisure,
and ;that it should not be meddled with.—
After the patients were put to bed, he inquired for
the pan, and it was shown him by the prisoner—it
appeared to have been washed out, and all the par-
ticles of the porridge had been removed; he asked
who had washed it out, and the prisoner said she
had used the pan, and had washed out the porridge.
She said that she had boiled the water in it which
had been used by the stomach pump ; but he told
her that it had not been boiled in it, for he had in-
spected all the water that had been boiled. He in-
quired after the basin of porridge, and she said that
she had emptied it into the canal, which was about
one hundred yards off; there were a fee.- particles of
meal remaining in the bason, but not sufficient to
make any experiment of. On examining the body
of the deceased, it was evident she died from the
effects of poison.
The prisoner being called upon for her defence,
said she remembered nothing at all about it.
The. .Jury found her Guilty, of Murder; and :he
was ordered to be executed on Saturday last, and
her body to be dissected and anatomized.
The prisoner was taken from the bar weeping
bitterly.

OXFORD CIRCUIT.-SHR.EWSBURT, MARCH 21.
HUNTER V. REYNOLDS.

Mr. JUSTICE opened the pleadings. This was an
action by the plaintiff to recover from the defendant
a compensation in damages for the seduction of his
daughter. _ _

Ann Hunter said, I am the plaintiff's daughter.
He is a carver and gilder, residing at Bridgenorth.
My mother is nearly 60 years of age, and is greatly
afflicted by ill•health, and distress of mind, in conse-
quence of my misfortunes. I am not twenty-one
now, and in 1824 began to work at my business of
a dress-maker, for which I had been educated. I
used to go out to work. In 1824 I became ac-
quainted with the defendant, by his lodging at my
sister's. He used to watch me when I went out
and returned from work, and wait for me and walk
with me. He did not visit at my father's house.
He did this from 1824 to 1826. At last he told
me he was going to leave Bridgenorth and go to
Richmond, in Yorkshire. He made oaths and pro-
mises that if I would go with him he would settle
40/. per annum upon me, and marry me : lie
persuaded me to leave Bridgenorth, to go
with him. He left Bridgenorth the next
day, and I went the day following. He met
me at the New Hotel, Wolverhampton, and from
thence we went by coach to Richmond, in Yorkshire.
We lived there about three months, when his wife
came from Bridgenorth. The defendant was out at
the time. She showed me the certificate of her
marriage, and I then gave her up the keys, and 1501.
in money, which he had left me to take care of. He
gave me Si., with which I went to my sister's, at
Birmingham. She got me a situation, but I was un-
able to remain in it, arid I was in the family way; I
therefore went home to my father's on the 21st of
September, and on the 18th,of ,November was put
to bed. The child is the defendant's, and is living;
my father supports it.
Cross-examined by Mr. CAMPBELL—We used to
meet in the streets, never in the fields or in any
house; he behaved always very politely to me ; I
thought he was single, and I allowed him when
walking with me to put his arm round my waist.
At first I thought he was a married man till he told
me he was not. The defendant is about fifty years
of age, when he used to follow me about; I told
him not to do so. I said he would be the ruin of
me. None of my family ever new of my acquaint-
ance with him till I went away ; he took no liberties
with me till we arrived at Richmond, where he re-
presented me to be his wife.

The Jury, after a consultation of about ten
minutes, returned a verdict for the plaintiff.—
Damages, 701.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT. -THETFORD, MARCH 21.

At nine o'clock the avenues to the Court were
crowded, in expectation of the following trial of
John Kenney, a young man 22 years of age, for the
wilful murder of William Moore, of Brisley.
After. a great number of witnesses had been
examined,
Edward Johnson, the gaoler of Swaffliam, was
called. He had the prisoner in custody on Wed-
nesday, the 19th of December. After he was lodged
in the House of Correction, witness began a conver-
sation with prisoner. Witness asked what he did
for a livelihood. lie replied, " I work at my father's
farm at Poxley." " What did you leave home for
on Sunday night ?" " I cannot rest (sighing
deeply), and I will tell you all about it." He then
said, " I went to Carter's, at Rainham, with some -
cows. On my return to Brisley-gretn, I overtook a
boy upon a donkey, and asked him where he was
going. He said, to Bintry Royal Oak. I s i 1 I

would show him the way. I went past the Oak,
and went back before he did, and waited on the
road outside the town till the boy came. We
went back again the same way, through
ford, Elmham, and to Brisley, past the Church,
along the Litcham road. About a quarter of a mile
past the church the boy got off the donkey, in Elm-
ham-lane. I asked him to get off. The first thing
I did was to push him into the bank near the gate.
Before I did this, I had got the brace in my hand
ready in ease he should make a noise. I should not
have done it if he had not shrieked out, which pre-
vented my doing what 1 was going about. I put
the brace round his neck, and tied it in a half knot,
and pulled it tight till he could not make a noise.
I searched and took the knife from his waistcoat
pocket. I had it of him before, to cut a piece of
bread and cheese. I then cut his throat. I don't
know if it was two or three cuts. Then I cut him
open all the way down. I cut a piece of his liver
out, and laid it down where he was, close to him.
I then left him, and went back over Brisley-
green, by Elmham, home. About an hour af-
ter I went to bed, but could not sleep. I
got up about seven, but could cat nothing.
On Tuesday I went to the Church, and saw the
boy. I did not think I had cut him open so much.
Mr. Quarles asked if I knew him; I said no, and
went back to the Bell. " I feel easier now, and
think I shall be able to get a little sleep to-night.
I have not slept since I did it, nor can't eat." Next
day witness went to the Chancellor Yonge, the
magistrate, and reported what' had transpired, who,
upon witness's suggestion, directed hint to take
the prisoner to Norwich, round by the way of Ris-
ley. On arriving in sight of Brisley Church,
witness asked prisoner what church that was.
—He replied Brisley, and after proceeding a
short distance in the lane, Kenney sighed and said,
" that's the fatal gate where I first pushed the boy
down. I pushed him on the-bank there. The-boy
struggled away from me, and got to the gate. I
then dragged him into the
.eld through the gate,
and began what I wanted. He called out very
loud, and said he would tell his cousin of me, and
kept calling out."
A host of witnesses were examined with a view
to prove that the prisoner was of unsound mind.
The Jury acquitted him:upon the ground of in-
sanity.

EXECUTIONS.

SATURDAY, OSE O'CLoCY.—Field, Burnett; and
White, the three men who formed part of the Sun-
ninghill gang of proaehers, and who were convicted
and condemned to death at the last Berkshire As-
sizes, under Lord Ellenborough's Act, for wilfully
shooting and otherwise ill-treating and robbing Mr.
Crutchley's keepers, were this day executed, at 12
o'clock, on the new drop, erected at the south-west
corner of our county gaol. Ihe hardihood evinced
by all three, continued unabated to their last mo-
ments. At the 'above hour, accompanied by Mr.
Ormond, the Under-Sheriff, the Rev. Dr. Williams,
the Rev. W. Bushnell, of Beenham, Mr. East-
staff, and some of the under-keepers, they ascend-
ed the drop. Field was the first who was
brought up, and he ran fearlessly up the steps lead-
ing to the platform, while the preparations were
making by the executioner. When on the plat-
form, he gazed unconcernedly about him, and
nodded to many in the crowd. Burnett next
ascended, also with a firm step, and when half-way
up the gangway, stopped and likewise nodded to
some acquaintance. White was the last. They
appeared engaged in conversation among themselves,
(hiring which time Field was observed to kick with
his feet backwards, in a sort of bravado, and to look
round with the greatest indifference. The ropes
were now adjusted, and the caps pulled over their
eyes ; the executioner, who had already gone down,
returned however, but whether at the suggestion of
Field or not we cannot say, but healtered the halter
with which Field was tied, to the fatal beam. They
were shortly afterwards turned off. Burnet appeared
to die immediately, but Field and White struggled
very hard for some time, especially .the latter, who
seemed violently convulsed-for, at least ten minutes
after the drop fell. The -crowd was dense in the
extreme, and might be computed at 4,000 persons.
—Windsor Express.

RARA AVM—Last week, THOMAS FREE-
Dom', fisherman of Caversham, shot a fine specimen of
the Scoter, Black Duck, or Black Diver. (Anal Nigra,
Lin.—La Macreuse, Buff.) The Mercury gave it the
name, last week, of the Black Duck of Lapland ! The
particulars may be found upon reference to vol. 2d, page
289, of Bewick's Natural History of Birds. This curious
bird is now in the possession of Mr. JOSEPH WARD, Bird,
Beast, and Fish Preserver, London-street.—From a Cor-
respondent.

A free stone coffin has been ndiscovered near
Yatton, Somerset, in a grazing field, about a foot below
the surface. The bones therein contained are the remains
of some of the principal limbs—many pieces of the skull,
a jaw bone, with some of the teeth remaining in it, several
joints of the vertebrae, some of the ribs, &e. but they are
by no means of large size. The place where this curiosity
was discovered, is now the property of JONX SMITH Pt-
corr, Egg. the present High Sheriff of the county, who has
given strict orders for the careful preservation of the ro-
ma i s. —Berks Chronicle.

The attention of the miller of the Glen Mill,
near New Monkland Church, was for several days last
week attracted by the flying and flocking of crows and
other fowls in a certain part of the glen braes. Surprised
at this unusual circumstance, he vent down to the glen to
explore the mystery, and found the body of a young' female
lying on the brae side, much mutilated, especially in the
countenance, by the pecking of the birds. The body must
have been in this state for eight or ten days. It evinces
marks of having been murdered ; and from surgical inves-
tigation, the unfortunate female had been with child. Her
family, name, and residence, are unknown.—Glasymo
Free Press.

KIDDERMINSTER.—We understand that the
carpet-weavers of Kidderminster have received an unani-
mous notice from the manufacturers in that town, of a
material reduction in the prices of weaving, to take place
to-morrow, the 25th instant. The reduction is stated to
be at least 15 per cent. on the prices paid to the workmen
30 or 40 years ago, the only fluctuations which have oc-
curred during that period being an advance during the
pressure of the war, and a return in 1816 to the former
list. On the part of the masters, it is asserted that the
measure is necessary by the payment of reduced wages for
carpet-weaving in the north of England and Scotland ;
that the improvements in machinery and materials have
e sonle as a tempta-
tion placed tale trade on a totally different footing from that
which it formerly occupied ; and that the weavers, with
moderate work, can earn more money than is required for
the support
to idleness and drunkenness. The workmen,
;
it is
said, do
n o
t o f
denyhei r
the families,r
e l reasonableness
na whichbln .
reduction
but assert, that to carry it to the extent
s itess operates
of
proposed, would
be most unjust and oppressive.

riEetoDrlsTisAaTbEouDt
tolNwraOitOuLponTtAheXD.
WEi
TAX.—It
etof i
under-
stood in London, that a powerful deputation'of Landed
Proprietors
TON, as Prime Minister, for the . purpost of. proving to the
Government that the Agricultural interest of the country th
is unduly depressed, and that one of the remedies for
the
depression ought to be an increase of at least 200 per cent.
upon the present importation duty of foreign wool—namely,
from Id. to 3d. a pound. This proposal is to be accom-
panied, as we are informed, by another, to the effect, that
English wool and yarn shall be exported duty free. What
countenance the Duke of WELLINSTON, and the Govern-
ment of which he is the head, may be disposed
theso landed
proprietors in both Mouses of Parliament, We. are unable
to say, though from the observations of Mr. Husaisser;
in the House of Commons on Monday evening, it is pretty
clear that the free trade branch of the Administration,
now, we fear, so powerless, will endeavour to maintain the
principle which at present exists, for regulating the duty
both on the import and export of wool. The woollen
manufacturers of Yorkshire, whose prosperity is so deeply
involved in this question, ought to be alive to the subject
and be prepared, should the necessity ar
wise,
think the true
to t3ke such
measures as their own interests, and eas
interests of the country
in general, require. It is under-
stood that the Corn question and the Wool question will
be discussed simultaneously in Parliament, and the discus-
sion will, according to the present arrangement, take place
in tits House of Commons next Friday.—Leeds ilferoiry.