The Sun.
London, England, 1845-03-28 00:00:00

HOME CIRCUIT —Kingslon March 26.

CROWN COURT.—(Before Mr. Baron ALDERSON.)
Thomas William Barn* aged 26, coachman, was in-
dicted for feloniously sending a threatening letter to
Mr. John Hurst, with a view to extort money from him
accusing him of an unnatural crime.
Mr. Clarkson and Mr. Bodkin conducted the prosecu-
tion, and Mr. Charnock defended the prisoner.
Mr. CLARKSON having stated the case for the prose-
cution, called the following witnesses :
Catherine Bourne deposed that she was cook to the
prosecutor, who resides at Clapham-rise. On the 7th
of March she received a letter from a boy, which was
addressed to her master, and which she shortly after-
wards gave him.
Cross-examined—The prosecutor keeps two other
servants, a parlour maid and a man servant. The man
servant before the prisoner, who had been in the prose-
cutor's service as coachman, left from his own notice in
December.

Mr. John Hurst, the prosecutor, an elderly gentleman,
deposed that he was a bachelor, and his sister resided
with him. The last man servant he had lived with him
for five years, and on his leaving, the prisoner was en-
engaged as coachman, but finding he was a bad driver,
he gave him notice to quit. He asked to be allowed to
stop in the place a little I.eiger, and he was to have re-
mained until the 22d of February, but, in consequence
of his disobeying orders, he was discharged on the 12th.
Witness received the letter in question on the 7th of
March. He believed it was in the prisoner's hand-
writing,
Cross-examined—Witness consulted a friend upon the
subject, and showed him the letter, but did not tell him
anything about having made use of an indecent expres-
sion to the prisoner while he was bathing him. The
prisoner did once bathe him with a sponge in his bed-
room. He was discharged for disobeying orders.
The witness was cross-examined at some length, and
it was admitted that some indecent expression had been
made nse of by him to the prisoner while he was bath-
ing him.
Police-constable, 25 P, deposed that he took the pri-
soner into custody, and told him that it was for writing
a letter to Mr. Hurst ; to which he replied, " I did
write it ; and Mr. Hurst had better be quiet." Some-
thing was afterwards said about the letter being anony-
mous, when the prisoner said that it could not be con-
sidered anonymous, for he had put his initials to it. The
prisoner at the same time said that all he wanted was
compensation for his character, or something to that effect.
The letter was then put in and read. Its contents
were as follow :

" Sir—l write to inform you that you have been very
unkind, trying to your extreme energies to reflect dispa-
ragement on my reputation. In retaliation, I shall make
known those liberties and diabolical actions you took
with me when I was bathing you in your room, what I
term —. Some compensation I wish to receive from
your hands, in one way or other. I am waiting for an
answer at the bottom of Stockwell-lane.—Obedient ser-
vant, " T. W. B."
_ .

This was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. CHARNOCA addressed the jury for the prisoner,
and contended that all the compensation sought for by
him, when he wrote the letter, was the restoration of his
character ; and he submitted that there was nothing like
a demand of money from the beginning to the end of the
letter. He concluded by expressing an opinion that it
was the greatest misfortune the prisoner ever had to
have entered into the service of such a master.

Mr. Baron ALDERSON, in summing up, said the simple
facts for the jury to consider were, without any regard
to the guilt or innoonice of the prosecutor, whether the
prisoner intended to accuse him of au unnatural crime ;
and s•vondly, whether, if he did, he intended by means
of such accusation to extort money from him.
The j ur', after a short deliberation, returned a verdict
of Not Guilty.
Elizabeth Woodtsax, 33, was charged upon the coro-
ner's inquisition with the murder of her female illegiti-
mate child.
Mr. Ryland prosecuted, and Mr. Clarkson defended
the prisoner.
Eliza Woodman, the sister of the prisoner, who was
very much affected while giving her testimony, deposed
that she lived with her mother at Reigate, and the pri-
soner and an illegtimate child, seven years old, also
lived with them. On the night of the 11th of February
they went to bed at about half-past ten o'clock, the pri-
soner at the time appearing in good health and spirits.
Shortly afterwards witness heard her mother ask the•
prisoner where she was going, and she replied that she
had a pain in her stomach, and she heard her go out
and return in about tea minutes. In a few minutes after
this a neighbour, named Knowles, gave an alarm, and
witness went down into the garden, and found a female
infant lying near the dunghill, wrapped up in a flannel
petticoat. It was alive at the time, and was crying
loudly. She did not see anything of the prisoner for
some time after this, and she was then sitting in a chair
and speared to be very ill. Up to this time there had
been no suspicion in the family that the prisoner was in
the family-way, but witness had no doubt that the child
which was found was her sister's offspring.
George Wickman, the constable of Reigate, deposed
that ke went iu search of the prisoner on the night in
question, and found her in a field, nearly naked, mien-
sible, and he at first thought she was dead. He raised
her up and assisted her home. He afterwards found a
portioa of the prisoner's apparel under a hay-stack in
the field where she was lying.
By Mr. CLARKSON—The prisoner had had an illegiti-
mate child before, but she bore a very good character
fur humanity and kindliness of disposition.
Mr. Sargeant, a surgeon, residing at Reigate, proved
that when the body of the deceased child was shown to
him, there was an apron round it, and the strings were
drawn round its neck three times, but not sufficiently
tight to prevent the child from breathing. The child
was alive when he first saw it, but for the want of proper
attention it had-evidently lost a great deal of-blood. It
died on the Friday followiug, and he attributed the death
to congestion of the brain and lungs, partly produced by
loss of blood, and partly by the tightness of the ligature
round the neck.

In cross-examination by Mr. CLARKS" the surgeon
said that he had known the prisoner for several years,
and he gave her an excellent character for humanity and
kindness. When the constable brought her home after
the occurrence she was in a state of total syncope. In
answer to further questions he said he was not aware
whether the child was carried about the streets of Rei-
gite for some time after it was found, but he said if it
had been the case it would of course be very bad for an
infant to be so treated.
A woman named Wilson was then called to show that
the child was placed in her charge, and she said that on
the Thursday morning she took the child to the Red
Cross, and afterwards carried it back to the house of the
prisoner's mother. She said, also, that she took the
child back again on the following evening, and it died
ten minutes afterwards.

The witness, being cross-examined by Mr. CLARKSON,
said that she knew a woman named Beadle, and that she
walked with her while she had the child, but she did not
give it to her to carry. She denied also that the woman
referred to told her not to say that she had had the child,
for fear anything should be said about it. She went near
the Blue Anchor beer-shop, but she did not show the child
to any one who was there.
Mr. CLARLSON pressed the witness to state whether
the child was not exhibited to the people in the beer-
shop, and she would not answer for some time, but at
length said that she did not know ; she was not sure.
The Learned Counsel, finding he could not obtain a
direct answer, at length sat down and gave up the
attempt.
Mr. Baron ALDERSON addressed the witness, and told
her she would have to answer for her conduct elsewhere ;
she would not only have to answer for carrying that
poor child about the town in the manner she had, but
for not answering truly, according to the solemn oath
she had taken.

This was the case for the prosecution.
Mr. CLARKSON then addressed the jury for the pri-
soner, and after contending that the evidence was not
by any means sufficient to make out the charge of
murder, he was about to proceed to make some ob•
servations with reference to the concealment of the
birth—

Mr. Baron ALDERSON, however, interposed, and said that
the Act of Parliament only alluded to the concealment
of a dead body, and as the child of the prisoner had
clearly been proved to be born alive, no charge of con-
cealment of the birth could apply to the prisoner.
Mr. CLARXSON thanked his Lordship for the inter-
ruption as it had saved him from addressing the jury
upon that point. He then went on to allude to some
stringent observations which he said had been recently
made by the public press upon the conduct of judges
and juries in some cases similar to the present., and he
said he trusted the jury would not allow such observa-
tions to sway their judgments or their conduct, and that
they would return such verdict as their consciences die
tated upon the evidence laid before them.
Mr. Baron ALDERSON summed up, and said that he
should be ashamed of the jury if he imagined they
would suffer themselves to be swayed by any observa-
tions made out of Court, and he trusted they would dis-
miss them entirely from their minds. The Learned