The Sun.
London, England, 1827-08-01 00:00:00

SUMMER A SSIZES.

NORFOLK CIRCUIT—HUNTINGDON, JULY 31.
THE LATE HORRID MURDER AT STUKILRY.
The Grand. Jury having yesterday returned a true
bill against Joshua Slade, for the murder of the'
Rev. •Joshua Waterhouse, at Stukeley, in this
neighbourhood, the court was filled this morning
to overflowing, at an early hour. An additional
interest was conferred upon this horrible transaction
by the circumstance of its being the only murder
which has been perpetrated in this county for fte
Irst 40 years.
At nine o'clock the LORD CHIEF BARON entered
the court, and the Jury having been immediately
sworn,

Joshua Slade, aged 18, was, put to the bar, charged
with the wilful murder of the Reverend Joshua
Waterhouse, on 3d of July, at Little Stukeley,
in this county. The prisoner, whose appearance
was very juvenile, advanced to the bar with a steady
firm step, and neither in his gestures or countenance
exhibited the slightest mirk of discomposure or ap-
prehension. On 'being asked, in the usual way,
whether -he 'we§ Tgitilty or noi, he replied, camly end
deliberately, " 4ot Guilty." •
Mr. Sergeant STORKS then proceeded to address
the Jury. Standing as he did in the nature of a
prosecutor, he • was anxious to pay a benevolent ho-
mage to the merciful laws of his country, and to
abstain from all inflammatory language. The Learned
Gentleman then proceeded to state the facts of the
case, and having detailed the various circumstances
which have been already communicated to the pub-
lic concerning the -habits of the deceased, and the
Manner in which the murder was discovered, tan-
eluded a brief and distinct outline • of the evidence
by calling • 1 . •
Ann Gale, examined by, Mr. HUNT-sVVorked at
Mr. Waterhouse's as a day labourer, in the begin-
ning of the present month. She' went to the house
on the morning of the murder, at half-past- five
o'clock ; found Mr. Waterhouse in the first kitchen.
There is a passage, eight or ten yards long, leading
from the first kitchen to the second. The passage
is dark, except *hen the garden door is open. Soon
after she came in she went through the passage to.
the dairy. In the passage there is a staircase on the
left, and three steps up the staircase there is a door,
which leads into the garden. Mr. Waterhouse had
breakfasted. Nobody .came info the house 'until
witness went out. On going out left Mr. Water-
house sitting in his chair, and went into a field near
the house. It was half-past nine when she went out,
and she returned at eleven- when -witness came
back to the house through the yard, she saw a greal
many people, and a great alarm had been raised.
Witness saw Mr. Waterhouse a. corpse, lying upon
the ground, near a tub, which was. in ,the passage
between the first and second kitchen. •
Wm. Parker, a young boy, worked for Mr. Water-
house as a day labourer. Went into the house at
eleven with Reuben Riggs. Went into the first
kitchen. There is another kitchen, and a passage
between them, in which was a ob.. Sat down on, a
form, from which he could see into the paisage, and
there saw master in the tub with his legs hanging
out. When witness saw Mr. Waterhouse's legs out
of the tub, he heard him groan,and ran away through
fright: Saw outside a lad named Rogers and one
named Ashby. Returned with both to Mr. Water-
house's. Mr. Waterhouse =had a dog, ,which was in
the kennel tied up, not far from the 'kitchen door.
The dog was barking almost all the morning. When
Ashby, Rogers, and witne§s'returned, the dog bark.:
ed no more.
Jonah Wilson examined by Mr. Sergeant STORKS.
—Ts. a surgeon. Went to the house of Mr. Water-
house at four o'clock on the day of the murder ; he
was then dead. Examined the body, and found a
large wound, three or four inches long, in the throat;
the wound had separated the tongue from the wind-
pipe. The wound had the appearance of having
been inflicted partly by ineisionand partly,by a stab.
There was an immense wound upon the right cheek,
completely dividing the jair-bone, the upper part of
the bone being likewise fractured. The right wrist
was completely cut through; the elbow of the right arm
was completely cut through. The wounds must have
been, inflicted by an instrument very sharp and very
heavy. There was a very great contused wound
upon. the breast, which seemed to have been inflic-
ted with the back of a very heavy bill. Believes
the death was occasioned by the wound in the
throat. The wounds could not possibly have been
inflicted by a man's own hands. Saw the prisoner
on the day nett but one after the murder, at the .
office of Mr. Sweeting; was struck with the appear-.
ante of his trousers • they were of slop. He wore
a jacket and vest; the trousers were of a dark dirty
brown; noticed particularly a greasy appearance
down the front of his trousers ; it struck witness
after, that this appearance was caused by, blood and
dirt being rubbed together. • ExaMined his dress.
and person more particularly after. Took him to
Mr. Waterhouse's house, and made prisoner, take off
his trousers, and discovered upon the inside a stain of
blood, which had gone through from the outside. It
was upon the leftthigh, and there was no wound upon
that part of his body whichcould have produced the
blood. Prisoner accounted. for it, by saying that he
had cut his little finger, and forcibly pressed it upon
his thigh to stop the blood. Afterwards discovered
that this was a fact. Examined his shoes particu-
larly a few days ago ;-examined his jacket, and found
a stain of. blood- upon the inner side of the outer part.
The jacket was lined, and
,the stain appeared. upon
taking off the lining; 'there was also a stain upon
the inner part of the shoulder of the jacket; the
thigh of the trousers appeared to have been washed,
or some liquid applied for the purpose of taking out
the stain: 'Saw a woodman's bill and a knife, which
'were produced in'the Justice's room. Observed that
there was. hair and 'animal matter, and apparently
blood ; the hair was human hair; dirt appeared to
have been put upon-the bill after the blood. The
deceased was tall, his hair was gray, and corresponded
exactly with.the hair upon the bill; examined the.
tub in which the deceased was found, and observed
several cuts which ,appeared to have been made with
a bill. Thinks. he might venture to swear that the
handle of the bill had been stained with blood.
The witness here inquired if he might be allowed
to state what 'happened between him and Slade on
the Friday after the murder: permission having
been given, witness continued.--I said, " Slade,
this is evidently blood." Slade lost hiniself for a
few minutes, and then said, " Yes, Sir, I know how
it came—it mini from the cut on my finger."
Wm. Francis knows the Swan public-house at
Stukeley; was there on' the night before the mur-
der ; saw Joshua- Slade, the prisoner, there, with
William Wright,. and witness's own brother. The
whole party played at bowls until 10 o'clock. Wit-
ness and prisoner left the, house at one in the morn-
ing. 'When they departed,' Slade went towards the
church, and witness Went home. On the Monday
after, went with Mr. Woods, the constable, through
the. field called the Horse-close, near Mr. Water-
house's. Woods took two shoes. Witness got over
a stile, and , observed some prints, which stitmed
made by' two or three nails in the left shoe. The
way over the stile leads through a .close of Mr.
Waterhouse to the high-road, and on to an old
bridge called the Tunnel. Prisoner wore a darker
coloured jacket when witness was in company with
him than he wears now..
John Crane.---Knows Joihua Slade. Upon one
occasion witness and , prisoner were speaking to-
-ether of'a robbery- Which had been committed upon

premises,
John Richardson is a constable, and had Slade
his custody. Slade told witness that he had been
playing at bowls, and left the house at one o'clock
in the morning. He said that he want from the
Swan at one in the morning, and proceeded to God-
manchester to invite his sister to a feast; he :rid
that he had slept in a hay-field on the way side, and
arrived at Godmanchester at half-past seven in the
inorning, and breakfasted with his brother and slate.,
end left Godmanchester at half-past ten, before
which he had some beer at the Rose and Crown. at
Godmatichester; that he then came to the Horse
and Jockey at Huntingdon; after which he pro-
ceeded to Little Stukely, where he arrived at seven
o'clock in the evening. Such was the account which
Slade gave of
.himself. Witness then deposed, that
he went with the prisoner to the Horse and Jockey,
and asked the landlady if' the prisoner had been there
upon the day stated. Witness asked for all the per--
. sons who had been in the habit of drawing beer
there, and prisoner pointed to a girl, and said, it was
she that had drawn the beer for him on Tuesday.
She utterly denied it, and said, he had not been
there at all on Tuesday. The landlady came down
and said, addressing herself to the prisoner, " Oh
you, is it ? I know you very well by your pus
dose. You have not been here since you were witt:
Hawkes, drinking ,vitie." Witness then went
to the Rose and Crown at Godmanchester, taking
with him the prisoner, who said that it was the
landlady who had drawn the beer for him there. to
landlady asked him where lie sat ; he replied n?_a:
the clock. The landlady upon this disclaimed hav-
ing seen. him on the day in question. Witness then
vent with prisoner .to the 'Swan in Godmanchester,
and asked the landlady if she had seen him on the
Tuesday ; she said he had not been .there at all. The
Swan is next doer -to the • house of prisoner's sister.
Was in company on Monday the 9th of July with
prisoner and a person named Cole. Witness said to
prisoner " Slade, you had a knife. What have you
done with it ?" (He, Slade, had previously said
that he had given the knife and his watch to his mo-
ther, and witness went next (My to the rri;.aller'z
(rouse, but did not find the knife). Slade then pu:.
his hand into his pocket, and gave the knife to wit -
ness. Upon searching the mother's house fa: th
knife,in the first instance, witness found a bill-hoot
in a cupboard, which is only accessible ti am the if,
side of the house. Gave the bill-hook to Mr. Sweet-

;ng. On the Bth of July took two shoes off the feet
of Slade in the prison. Gave the shoes to a person
named Butler, having marked them previously.
The remainder of the evidence of this and twofol-

;owing witnesses was adduced to prove that Hed-
•lings was, during the whole of the day of the mur-
ler, in a distant place; that he could not therefore
imssibly be himself the guilty person ; and could
Therefore have no motive derivable from the prospect.
of personal impunity, to give any other than true
estimony in the account which he was about to
deliver in Court, of conversation on the subject of
the murder which had occurred between himself and
Slade. •

Win. Heddings.—ls come from the gaol to the
box; is the Wm. Heddings against whom a bill has
been found for a felony, and who is to be tried. Has
been much acquainted with prisoner for a twelve-
month. Has been With prisoner several times. Wit- ,
aess is 36 years old, a labourer, and married. Lives
at Stukeley. Recollects the day of the murder. Saw
die prisoner on the Sunday preceding the murder; ,
had not seen him the whole week previous. First
met Slade at harvest work at Mr. Waterhouse's.
Saw prisoner on 'Wednesday night after the murder
an the high road; was coming from the inquest when
he saw Slade; Slade,was standing with a good many
more people; witness jogged him on the elbow, and
o.alled him to one side; the people were within 4 ol•
3 yards of them, and could not hear. Witness asked
Slade what he thought of this concern of Mr. Water-
house being murdered. He said, " I don't know."
I said" it, how came you to lay hands. upon
him ?" He answered, " I was forced, for I was in
the low kitchen a plundering. Mr. NVaterhoui:,.,
oatched me, and resisted my coming out ; when I
went to come out, he catched hold on me. Having
nothing to defend myself, I drew my knife, and
then began to stab him, and cut him where I could,
he then called out murder, and I got him down
upon the floor; I then got myself a weapon, and
knocked him down, and hit him several hard blows
on the face, and wherever I could, to prevent him
getting up again. I then heard the dog bark very
vehemently at the door; I then went to see if there
was any person coming. I then, seeing nobody
coming, came back to Mr. Waterhouse again I
then struck him a hard blow on the head, and
knocked him into the tub." This was what Slade
told witness. After this, witness and Slade went
into the Swan, and had a pint of ale with John
Hawkes, of Huntingdon.
Cross-examined by the LoRD CHIEF BARON—
Slade said all that witness had mentioned in two
minutes.

By Mr. TAYLOR—Witness does not know on
what charge he has been committed ; believes it is
for stealing a pig : was once before in gaol for bur-
glary : was convicted, and sentence of death re-
corded upon him : he broke prison after : can't tell
the persons who were in company with Slade when
witness met him ; they. were not iellow-labourers of
witness's ; the place where they wer.! standing was
50 yards from the Bell, where the inquest was held,
The LORD CHIEF BARON then charged the Jury.
His Lordship said he had the misfortune to address
the jury in one of the most extraordinary cases
which had ever come under his consideration. The
ease entirely, or mainly rested upon the testimony of
William Heddings. Without his evidence, the case.
would have consisted entirely of circumstances so
slight and hanging so loose!:' together, that without
the evidence of that person, they never would be
considered by an English jury as a sufficient ground
on which to deprive a fellow-creature of his life. His
Lordship then proceeded to recapitulate the evidence
; upon coming to the testimony of Eed-
dings, his Lordship paused, and said, that he was
anxious to point out to the jury a fact which he had
observed in the progress of the cause, and which had
produced a powerful effect upon his mind. It ap-
peared that Heddings was on the 16th of July be-
fore the magistrates giving evidence upon the sub-
ject of this murder, and it was a most extraordinary
circumstance that the evidence which he gave then
not only corresponded in substance with that which
he had delivered to day in the box, but was delivered
in the same order, and, with a slight exception, in
the identical words which he had made use of
days ago. There was not a word, not a pause dif-
ferent in the two accounts, except the omission of a
very short passage. His Lordship said that he had
received from this coincidence a strong impression
that the witness had made up the whole story, awl
committed it to memory.
His Lordship concluded a long and ehtborzte.
charge about half-past six o'clock, when the jury re-
quested permission to withdraw; and after having
consulted together for ten minutes, returned a vet
diet of Guilty.
The prisoner is an ugly, but not what is usually
i,alled an ill-looking man. His eye-brows, which
ire arched and quite black, meet at the nose; hia
cheek-bones are very high; his nose puggish, as it
had been described by one of the witnesses; his
mouth small, and his lips thick and prominent. He
became somewhat paler upon hearing the sentence
:If guilty pronounced, but was not otherwise dis-
composed.
The LORD CHIEF BARON having pronounced the
awful sentence of the law, and left the convict for
.xecution on Thursday, lie was removed ironi the
,lock, and in the pasage met Heddings, with whom'
he shook hands, expressing a desire to die in peace
with all the world.
The verdict was in opposition to the charge of
the Learned Judge, and seemed to hare excited
great astonishment in Court.
MONDAY, JULY SO.
Elijah Marohall, aged 58, was put to the bar,
charged with having, on Wednesday the 1-Ith of

. .
May last, at twelve o'clock at noon, feloniously
broken and entered the dwelling-house of JOshua
Smith, at Broughton, in this county, and with hav-
ing feloniously stolen therefrom 12 crowns, 40 half-
crowns, 400 shillings, 80 sixpences, 115 sovereigns,
20 Bank-notes of 5/. each, and five of 101. each,
with other articles, of which the value altogether
amounted to near 300/.

The Jury formally pronounced a verdict of ac-
quittal; upon which
The LORD CHIEF BARON, addressing the pri-
soner, said," You are an extremely fortunate man."
The prisoner was then discharged, and seemed
not a little surprised at the result of the trial.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.-YORK, Jur.v 80.

The Judges (Mr. Justice BAYLEY and Mr. Baron
ilimLock) entered the city on Saturday, and opened
the commissions both for the city and the county.
Their Lordships went to the Cathedral church on
Sunday, where they heard Dr. Britton. At eight
o'clock this morning, Mr. Justice Bayley proceeded
to the Guildhall of the city, where the Grand Jury
were sworn in, and charged. There were only two
prisoners in the calendar—William Smith, charged
with bigamy ; and William Baines, charged w►th
%leafing books ; and true bills were found against
both of them.

Smith was immediately put upon his trial for
marrying Mary Fuller], spinster, his wife (Grace
Faith) being alive. The prisoner's marriage with
Grace Faith in 1804, and his second marriage with
Mary Pulleyn on the 19th of November, 1826, were
proved; and it appeared that the prisoner was taken
into custody on a charge of beating his first wife,
which led to the present indictmettt.
The prisoner said, in his defence, that he was
under age when he married Gracie Faith ; that the
marriage was by licence, and that his father refused
his consent ; and he ealled his father, an old man of
78, who said his son was on his first marriage only
.0 years old, and that he refused his consent.—
Lpon his cross-examination by his Lordship, he said
he was 24 years bid when he married ; his first sou
was born two years afterwards; and his second son,
she prisoner, was born two years after that.
His Lordship said, the only question turned upon
the age of the prisoner ; it appeared his father was
married about 54 years ago, and that the prisoner
was born-tout years afterwards; he must therefore
he now about 50 years old, and when he married
It's first wife he must have been 27.
The Jury immediately found the prisoner Guithi.

The prisoner then said, he was persuaded by his
father to marry. She shook a bag at him; his father
said it was ion of money, and that he must have her.
His Lordship sentenced him to two years' impri-
sonment, with hard labour.
William Baynes, a very respectable-looking man,
was then put upon his trial for stealing three books
The Beauties of Cowper—Falconer's Shipwreck—
and The Vicar of Wakefield--from the shop of
Alexander Barclay, a bookseller, in York.
The Jury found. the prisoner Guilty. He was
then arraigned upon another indictment for Stealing
other books, but the trial was, at the request of
Counsel, postponed.
In the county, Mr. Baron HULLOCK presided in
the Crown Court. There were 56 prisoners in the
calendar—several for highway robberies, seven for
manslaughter, one (George Clarkson) for the murder
of two bastard children, and one for rape.
Joke Metcalfe was indicted for a highway rob-
bery upon George Barrow, in Thornton, in Lonedale,
on the 7th of April last, and stealing from him his
clothes.—Guilly.
Thomas Johnson was indicted for the manslaughter
of Edward Cattorr; at Knaresborough, on the 9th of
April last.--Not Guilty.
Sarah Thorpe, the deceased's daughter-in-law,
who sent in for ohnson, was then arraigned upon
the Coroner's Inquest, and acquitted, no evidence
being offered against her.

• HOME CIRCUIT—CHELMSFORD, JULY SO.
'Tkis day, about three o'clock, Sir JAMES ALLAN
FARE, and Sir STEPHEN GASELEE, Kilts., arrived
here, actompanied by Sir JOhn Tyrrell, Bart., our
worthy Ogh Sheriff. Having opened the Commis-
sion, their z.ordships attended Divine Service, when
an excellent 'discourse was delivered by the Sheriff's
Chaplain, the Rev. John Bramston, M.A., of Ex-
eter College, Oxford, ffont the 5.5 th chapter of
Isaiah, verses 7,8, 9. The cafe-11,28r contains 81
prisoners, among whom, we regret w state, there
are many persons charge-I with offences a a very
heinous description. There are seven for higteway
robbery; eleven for housebreaking, including the
kialstid gang of six, three of whom we committed
to give evidence against their accomplices, and two
persons are indicted for receiving the articles from
the Halsted gang, knowing them to have been stolen;
for horse stealing, four; sheep stealing, one ; stealing
corn, five ; fowl stealing, five ; uttering forged notes
and base coin, two; stealing in a dwelling house,
five ; ass stealing, three ; shooting at with natant to
do bodily harm, killing, and slaying, and on suspi-
cion of having murdered her male bastard. Oild, one
each, &c. &c. •
Thirty-four causes, seven of which are for special
juries, were entered for trial.