The Sun.
London, England, 1827-09-10 00:00:00

SUMMER ASSIZES.

LANCASTER, THURSDAY, SEPT. 6.

John Robinson the elder, Lawrence and Robert
Robinson, Henry, William, and James Nelson, and
John Robinson the younger, were indicted for woluid-
ing and killing a bay filly, the property of John
Walmsley, at Farrington, on the 18th of August.
There were two other counts for wounding and cut-
ting a black horse, and also a black gelding, the pro-
perty of George Green. There was another indict-.
men ~against the same prisoners, for stealing a basket,
containing some tea, sugar, soap, salt, &c.
The Jury found John Robinson the elder and
Henry Nelson Guilty, and Acquitted the other five
wisoners.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 7.

Jane Scott was arraigned upon a bill found against
her for petty treason, by administering arsenic to her
master, John Scott, at Preston, on the 14th of May.
She was also arr i:4aed upon the Coroner's Inquest
for the same offer, and pleaded " not guilty" to
both charges. S'ne is a short thick-set young woman,
aced 21. Before the trial began, Mr. Justice Bayley
showed a printed paper to the Jury, and said lie.had
received it in a letter from Manchester. The paper
purported to be the confessions of the prisoner Jane
Scott, and of another person. If any of the Jury
had met with a copy of it, he begged they would
dismiss it from their mind, as it was without the
slightest foundation. It had been most improperly
published, and if the person who printed it should
be indicted and convicted of the offence, a very heavy
punishment would most assuredly be the conse-
quence.
Mrs. Hannah Cragg.—l live at Preston, and was
acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Scott. They and their
daughter Jane live in the same house ; Jane is
between 21 and 22. I was at Mrs. Scott's house
on Sunday, the 13th of May; I drank tea there;
Mrs. Scott took me home a little after eight. Mr.
and Mrs. Scott were then quite well, and they and
her daughter were on good terms. I saw Jane Scott
again on Monday night, a little past nine; she came
to me and said, " Come to our house, my mother is
dead." She appeared very much alarmed. I said,
" I think your mother is not dead ;" she replied,
" Oh, yes ; my father is holding her up." I bid
her go home, and made up my house, and followed
her. I found the door open; went up the lobby,
and saw Mrs. Scott in the kitchen. I had some con-
versation with her, but Jane Scott was net present.
I saw John Scott afterwards, in the yard, vomiting
very hard. He went into the kitchen with me; Mrs.
Scott was still there. Jane came in, and was going
about the kitchen, but could hear what was said.—
Mrs. Scott said, " I am poisoned by the porridge."
Mr. Scott said the same, and "that it was a terrible
job for them." Jane Scott said, " she would be
quit of the porridge, there should be nothing more
said about it," and she then went into the pantry,
and brought out a basin of porridge. I saw it. I
was holding Mrs. Scott's head. Mrs. Scott said,
" Hold, Jane, don't take them out." Jane, who
was near enough to hear her, said nothing, but went
out and took the basin with her. She returned in
company with another woman, and brought back
the basin' and took it straight forward into the
pantry. Mrs. Scott desired her to fetch Dr. Brown,
the surgeon. Mr. Brown came, and asked. Jane to
bring the porridge-pan, that he might look at it. It
was a tin pan in which the porridge was boiled.--
He told her to lay it down, and not to wash it. I
42.4 not exactly sec ‘vhat was in the pan. A question
was asked by the mother, but I am not sure whether
Jane heard it or not. [Counsel declined asking
what the question was.] David Graham was sent
for. The prisoner and Mrs. Bilsborough went for
him. I left the house between 11 and 12 o'clock.
Mr. and Mrs. Scott were then both a bed.

David Graham.—Mrs. Scott was my mother,
and Mr. Scott my step-father ; I saw them on
Saturday the 12th May, at nine or ten o'clock at
night ; they were then in very good health ; Jane
was not then at home; she lived with her father and
mother, and was sometimes on good, and sometimes
on bad terms with them; I have known her [subject
to fits for the last three years; ,they were at times
very violent; on Monday, the 14th of .May, Jane
came to my house at about nine in the evening; she
appeared, very much alarmed, and said, "Oh !
David, conic away as fast as you can, my father and
mother are dying." I went with her, and found
Mr. Brown there; Mrs. Scott said something about
Jane; I can't say whether Jane heard it or not; in
consequence of what my mother said, I told Jane I
thought she had poisoned them; she said she had
not; after I had got them into bed, she came up
stairs into the room, and I said, "Oh ! Jane, how
can you come into the room where they are ? You
see what you have brought them to—them suffering
in such a manner." She leapt at and struck me,
and swore at me, and said she had not done it ; she
was so violent, I was obliged to put her down stairs ;
I told her I would have her taken up; she is subject
to passions at times; she was then in a very great
passion and said she would poison my wife before
long; I then sent for a constable, and had her taken
up ; this was before either Mr. or Mrs. Scott
died. I remained in the house until Mrs. Scott
died; that was about ten minutes before three in
the morning ; Mr. and Mrs. Scott were in the same
bed; I told Mr. Scott that Mrs. Scott was dead ;
Jane was not present; I do think that Mr. Scott
thought he was dying at that time.
Graham's examination continued—After I had
told Mr. Scott that my mother was dead, he said,
" I shall not be long after her." He then said, he
believed that Jane had put poison into the Porridge
she had made for them.

---
Margaret Bisborough—l have known Jane during
the last three years. Her fits have been latterly
more frequent. I
cannot tell whether they have
impaired her mind. She has had them so very bad
at times as to fall in the streets.
Thomas Emmett, a druggist at Preston—The
prisoner has come to my shop three times ; the first
time was about two months before the death of Mr.
Scott. She asked fora quarter of a pound of arsenic.
I inquired what she wanted it for; she said to de-
stroy rats; they ate her father's cheese and bread.
I asked
where she lived
shop in Bridge-street. ; she said her father kept a
I cannot say whether she
mentioned her father's name or not. (The Judge
desired the Witness in future always to make a writ-
ten entry when he sold poisons.) She came again
,
about a fortnight afterwards, and asked foz three
penny-worth of arsenic. I again asked her whet.?
she lived;
collection
she told me the other arsenic had not
quite nestroyed the rats, that brought lwr to my re-
, and I sold her the arsenic. She came the
third time,
in the afternoon of the Thursday or
Friday previous to the death of Mr. Scott, and asked
for three penny-worth of arsenic; she said it was to
put into white-wash to destroy bugs. Arsenic is
proper for that purpose. I sold her the arsenic. I
wrote on the parcel " Arsenic," drew a line tinder it,
and then wrote " Poison." I told her she must be
very cautious how she used it, for it was a deadly
poison. She asked me how to mix it, and I
showed her. _ _

✓
George Richardson—l knew the prisoner for two
months before Mr. Scott's death; I saw her on the
Thursday night before; she Was then standing at
her door, and called me in. I stayed with her from
half-past six till near ten. There was another girl,
Betsy Richardson, there; she wished her to go
home, for she had something particular to say to me.
I told the gill to stay, for there was nothing par-
ticular that I
knew of. Betsy, after a short time,
went into the back-yard, arid then Jane said,