The Sun.
London, England, 1826-04-01 00:00:00

WESTMINSTER. SESSIONS.
ATTEMPT •ro POISON.

Yesterday joim L)jzries stood indicted for administering x
quantity of about drams of laudanum to William Harvey,
with intent to cause a deep sleep to fall upon ilia, and to plum•
der him while in that state.

Mr. William Harvey, the prosecutor, a man apparently
about 50 years old, with a countenance strongly marked with
shrewdness and good nature, stated that he was a rope-maker,
residing near Derby. On the 23d of the present month:he was
walking.along Fetter-lane, when the prisoner came. up to him.
and inquired the way to Hyde-park. IVitness supposing bins
to be a stranger to London, and having nothing particular to
do, offered to show him the way. Accordingly, they proceeded
along the Strand into the Park, and thence witness took him
to Tattersall's to see the horses there. In the course of this
walk, the prisoner told him he had been only two days in
bondon, that he was the son of an innkeeper at Chester. and
had conic to town to receive a'large property, of- which. he tit
that.time had COM about him. Witness told him that he
did wrong to carry,so much money about him, and, utiviaed
him to lodge it in the Bank. Ile added, that he (prosecutor)
never carried much hioney -with him-; to be sure (chewing his
purse) he had, he said, the ehange of three 51. notea, which he
had received that morning at the Bank about him, but then he
had not had an opportunity to go to his lodgings to leave the
money there. On leaving Tattersall's they went into the Turf
Tap, where they had two glasses of brandy and water each, and
for which the prisoner insisted on paying, as a return for wit-
ness's kindness in shemng him about. From thance they pro
ceeded to a public-house in Castle-street, Leicester-square, wit-
ness having on their way purchased a quantity of ham and
beef for both of diem. They went into an up.stair room, and
while the plates,. &c., were being got ready the prisoner went
down stairs, and returned in about five minutes afterwards.--
Having dispatched their supper, he proposed that they should
take a glass of grog each sad a pine, and asked what liquor
witness preferred. " gin and water ;" but was.so
pressed by the prisoner to take rum and water, as being better
for him, that he consented so to do. Two glasses of rum and
water were accordingly brought up, for which, with the ex.
pence of the supper, witness then paid. A l.ttle time after he
took up the glass which the prisoner had handed to him, and
raised it to his lips but finding the taste to be very unpleasant,
put it down after drinking a very small quantity. The prisoner
pressed him repentedly. to drink it up, but he refused, and
asked the prisoner to drink it for him, which he declined 'doing.
They finally rose to go away, leaving the glass and its con-
tents standing on the table, and had got to the bottom of the
stairs, when the landlady came up to them, and told them that',
they must not go away. Immediately after en officer came in,
and took the prisoner into custody, on the charge which forms
the substance of the present indictment. The prisoner was
searched, but no bottle was found upon him. Witness went to
Bow-street with the officer, and after giving his evidence, sata
down in the office and fell asloep. He also felt very drossy and
feverish during the greater part of the following day. On put.
ling his bond into his coat pocket in the course of the next
Morning, he found a phial, labelled " poison," and containing
a small quantity of laudanum. He took it immediately to the
public-house where he..had been with the prisoner, and there
,gave it up to the Mumble.
CrOss-exarnined—lled been in London three weeks ; had
vonne.up'on business ; bud been in London fifty times 'before ;
had offered to accompany the prisoner out of kindness, thinking
him to be a stranger to the place. .
The assistant of Mr. Cousens, surgeon, in Castle-street,
proved having sold the prisoner, on the evening in question,
six drams of laudanum. The battle was labelled " poison."
Thinks the bottle was the saute as that now produced. The pri.
sorer was brought to him about an hour after the transactions,
in custody, and was identified by him.
Cross-examined by Mr. Batt ay--I take it the quantity you
tepid him, was not enough to kill a. man ?
CliAtßNAN.—Kill a man ! ay, there was enough to kill '2O
men not used to taking
Mr. quest,. a hifir-dresser, residing in Bear-streek stated,
that he went into the , Sun and. Thirteen Cantons public-
house, in Castlestreet, on the evening in question, for the
purpose of taking SUMO refreshment. n. found-the *some,
and the prosecutor sitting by the fire of an upstair room,
smoking, their pipes. There,WAS no one else in the.room. Two
full glasses of rum and water were standing on the table; •one
of which, before he had been in the room a .minute,. he oh-
served the prisoner to take up, and hold under the table. while
he poured something out of a phial into it, and afterwards push
it over to the prosecutor, whom he invited to drink of it. Wit.
ness7e suspicion:, being excited that foul-playmas intended, he
went down etairs, andd-acquainted Sirs. Harding, the landlady
of the house, whoearnestly requested him to go for a constable,
promising in the interim te: prevent the prisoner from leaving
the house. Witnesi procured a constable, and brought him:
to the house. •

- •
The constable deposed, that on taking the prisoner into
custody he insisted on searching him. The prisoner replied,
" If you mean to search we, you must pull off your coat,
.end tuck up your shirt4leeves. ' After a little parleying,
however, he consented to he searched; there was nothing of
importance found upon him.
By a Alegistrate.--You did not fwd 6001. •in his. pocket
then ?

Airitness.—No, ror 800 pence.
Chairman.—Of course not,

Mr. BannY, for the prisoner, addressed the, Jury. He was
instructed that the prisoner had procured the laudanum for the
purpose of giving to a mare to cure her of kicking. As to
how the laudanum got Into the glass, and the bottle into the
prosecutor's pocket, the Learned Counsel said nothing ; and
we must therefore presume had 'received no instructions on
thoke points. • -
The Chairman summed up with great minuteness.
The Jury, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of
guilty, but not with intent to kill.
The Chairman explained that no such intent was laid in the
indictment. A general verdict of guilty was then recorded.
The. Chairman, after enlarging. on the enormity of the pri-
soner's guilt, sentenced -him to two years' iMprisonment and
hard labour.

DURATION of LIFP..—From the most accurate
Life Annuity .Tables, it appears that the dura-
tion of life a century ago in England was only
three-fourths of what it is at present. It also
appenrs'that the life of a woman is vastly supe-
rior to that of a man, at every age above infancy.
One fact is of a very surprising nature. It up.
pears that. (1w waste of infant life among the poor
of the metropolis if most frightful. Out of every
1000 born, only 342 nre alive at the mother's
next pregnancy. That is, scarcely, more than
one-bslf survive nursing.

NoTHING LIKE 131,.1,1n PROVIDED.-- nere is
norcounting for that whhnsical peculiarity of •
taste, which so widely diversities the human cha-
racter. This is very apparent in the came of
tt
singular individual, who died in Sheffield, and
was buried on Sunday morning last, at Dronlield.
13y trade he was a joiner, and during the last 16
years he had carefully preserved in his bed-roam
the,coffin in which by desired to he interred. It
was beautifully finished, entirely his own work,
and made without the insertion of a single nail.
By the regular application of hees•wax, turpen-
tine, and elbow-grease, he had succeeded, in giv-
ing a gloss to it far• exceeding the best polished
pieee of furniture to be font d in 311 old maid'n
dining mini. Attentive, however, as he was to
MS own C 0114014 and wantQ,,lte. was not altoge-
ther unmindful of those around him, for about a
month before his death, he completed a similar.
lial)itatioo to the one he Laid prepared for him-
for the reception of the remains of his
better half. What
a "111 and considerate
husband.